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Thabo Mbeki will use troops to stop violence against foreigners

South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki has approved the deployment of the army to quell violence against foreigners.

The move follows a rise in the death toll following attacks on foreigners to 42, with 16,000 people displaced.

Police spokesman Govindsamy Mariemuthoo said 400 arrests have been made following 10 days of unrest, most of it flaring in squatter camps that are home to impoverished South Africans and immigrants from neighbouring countries.

President Mbeki approved a request from the police for the involvement of the South African National Defence Force to stop attacks on foreigners in and around Johannesburg, a statement from his office said.

Mr Mariemuthoo said details of how troops would be deployed were still being finalised.

There were also reports of violence spreading to the port city of Durban and to the eastern province of Mpumalanga.

In Durban, a mob armed with sticks and bottles descended overnight on a tavern believed to be owned by a foreigner, police said.

No one was injured in the attack, police spokeswoman Phindile Radebe said. She said it was not clear yet whether the tavern owner was foreign, and the case was being investigated as "public violence".

Aid groups in the Johannesburg area said most of the violence had been targeted against Zimbabweans, Malawians, Mozambicans and other foreigners living alongside South Africans in squatter camps.

South Africa is more prosperous than its neighbours but suffers high unemployment and widespread housing problems, especially among the black majority.