Police arrested at least 21 people for public violence in Balfour on Monday afternoon after shops were looted and roads barricaded, Mpumalanga police said.
"These people barricaded roads with burning tyres, and looted several shops belonging to foreigners, but no-one was injured," said Sergeant Sam Tshabalala.
A municipal office was set alight in the township during the violence, which started on Sunday and continued into Monday.
Police had opened a case of arson, but no-one had yet been charged, Tshabalala said.
"The groups of people who were causing the commotion saw police coming from a distance and then dispersed. We didn't catch any of them," he said.
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About 15 foreigners who fled the violence went to the police station on Monday morning to ask to be accompanied back into the township to check on their shops and collect their belongings.
Tshabalala said police would continue to monitor the situation.
President Jacob Zuma visited Balfour last year following a series of protests at Siyathemba by residents demanding the removal of all Mbombela municipal councillors.
In July, residents took to the streets, burning tyres and barricading roads. About 30 foreigners had to stay at the Balfour police station for safety reasons.
The Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (Cormsa) said in a statement on Monday that the renewed protests in the township were the government's fault, and that Zuma's visit to the area with a team of ministers last year had not yielded any results.
"Despite the visit of a task team of ministers to the area, no effective and sustainable solution was found to address the grievances being raised and as a result, further violence has occurred," it said.
Cormsa expressed concern at the "renewed xenophobic violence".
"Shops owned by foreign nationals in the area were attacked and looted by a large mob, reportedly after a demonstration against the local mining industry," Cormsa said.
"Many of those affected by the violence last night were also victims of violence in July 2009 where the shops of foreign nationals were targeted following service delivery protests and around 100 people were displaced," it said.
Cooperative governance spokesperson Abigail Plaatjie said the department would respond to the accusations either later in the day or on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Privatisation Forum said the protests were against the Burnstone gold mine outside Balfour.
"Residents are sick and tired of the mine's failure to abide by agreement with community to provide a training centre, invest in local development and ensure employment of local residents."
The mine said it would respond to the allegations later in the day. - Sapa
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