Zimbabwe officials have detained more than 160 Zimbabweans who were deported from South Africa as illegal immigrants, state radio reported on Wednesday.
Regional officials estimate that up to two million Zimbabweans have sought economic refuge in neighbouring South Africa in the face of a long-running political and economic crisis which President Robert Mugabe's critics say has forced a quarter of Zimbabwe's 12 million people abroad.
On Wednesday Zimbabwe state radio said South Africa -- which has been routinely deporting illegal immigrants by road or rail -- had on Tuesday taken "the unusual step" of deporting more than 160 people by air, and these people were now being held by state authorities for questioning.
"The deportees, some of whom did not have travel documents, were flown into Zimbabwe last night and are currently in police custody at Harare International Airport pending clearance," it said, adding that some of those deported had claimed that they had been tortured on the plane.
The deported men and women had been held at Lindela Camp outside Johannesburg and included Zimbabwean civil servants who claimed they had been arrested in South Africa despite having legal travel documents, the radio said.
There was no immediate comment from Zimbabwe police or immigration officials on Wednesday.
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