Members of the South African Police Services ( SAPS) backed by soldiers from the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) conduct searches and identity checks in central Durban, an area mostly inhabited by foreign nationals, in this May 06, 2015 photo.

More than 3,900 people — including 1,650 illegal immigrants — have been arrested in South Africa during a controversial police crackdown after April’s deadly xenophobic violence, authorities said.

“We are satisfied that we have stabilized the situation and further loss of life has been prevented,” a government statement said.

“Security agencies continue to work around the clock to protect both foreign nationals and South African citizens against any attacks.”

The crackdown came after at least seven people were killed as mobs hunted down migrant workers from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and other African countries, forcing hundreds of terrified families to abandon their homes. Rampant unemployment and poverty are seen as an underlying cause of the violence by South Africans who accused migrants of stealing their jobs.

The arrests of illegal immigrants has prompted charges that the government was fanning xenophobic sentiment, though authorities categorically denied that the operation targeted foreigners.

Some 2,260 South Africans have been arrested on a variety of charges since the operation began.

“We will, in the next weeks and months, accelerate our efforts to take back public buildings that have been hijacked, either by foreign nationals or by South Africans; rid our townships and villages of drugs… that are destroying the lives of many young people,” the government statement added. South African authorities are also going to continue with expulsions of foreigners. More than 400 Mozambicans were expelled Friday and 427 others in South Africa illegally are slated to be kicked out in the coming days.

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