A second batch of Ghanaians, fleeing a terrifying surge of targeted afrophobic attacks and hostile anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa, has arrived safely at the Accra International Airport.

The arrival of the 345 heavily traumatised evacuees on Saturday, June 6, 2026, marks a critical phase in the government's emergency humanitarian response to the rapidly deteriorating security situation facing Ghanaian expatriates in South Africa, where renewed street violence has sent shockwaves through foreign communities.

The latest group of returnees joined hundreds of compatriots who were previously repatriated under an evacuation exercise jointly coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and Ghana’s diplomatic mission in Pretoria.

The arrival comes barely two weeks after the first batch of approximately 300 evacuees successfully landed in Accra on Wednesday, May 27. That initial operation faced severe setbacks, with the original May 21 departure date postponed due to complex international logistical hurdles and sudden administrative bottlenecks.

Similarly, this second rescue operation suffered delays after the sheer volume of registered returnees far exceeded the government's initial expectations.

Foreign service officials disclosed that more than 1,500 anxious Ghanaians eventually signed up for emergency repatriation. The massive surge in applications reflects a sense of panic within the Ghanaian diaspora in South Africa following coordinated reports of physical attacks, systematic intimidation, and the widespread destruction of foreign-owned properties.

For many of the returnees, the flight back to Accra represents a painful economic uprooting. Dozens are believed to have abandoned established retail businesses, formal jobs, and hard-earned personal belongings, fleeing with nothing but small hand luggage to escape the hostile environment.

A significant number of the evacuees had resided in South Africa for several years, building stable livelihoods and integrating into local communities before this recent, aggressive wave of xenophobic violence completely disrupted their lives.

The emergency evacuation is taking place against a grim backdrop of regional tension. Foreign nationals from multiple sister African countries have reportedly faced coordinated threats, harassment, and physical assaults from local vigilante groups.

The recurring outbreaks of anti-foreigner violence have drawn fierce condemnation from governments and human rights organisations across the continent, who argue that the systemic targeting of fellow Africans severely undermines the spirit of African unity, continental integration, and regional cooperation.

Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) were on the tarmac to receive the returnees, providing them with immediate psychological support, meals, and a transport allowance to help them reintegrate into their respective towns and villages.

The state's emergency airlift is far from over. With hundreds of citizens still taking refuge at temporary diplomatic holding centres in Johannesburg and Pretoria, the government is racing against time to clear the backlog.

Barring any last-minute scheduling changes, a third rescue flight carrying over 300 additional passengers is expected to touch down at the airport today, Sunday, June 7, 2026.