South African authorities must do more to tackle a spate of "xenophobic" protests aimed at blocking access to clinics and hospitals to undocumented foreigners, a court ruled on Thursday.

Members of a vigilante group known as Operation Dudula have for months protested at clinics in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, checking identity cards and refusing access to non-South Africans.

Human rights groups including Doctors without Borders (MSF) and the Treatment Action Campaign argued in court that the authorities had not done enough to stop the group.

The High Court in Johannesburg ordered officials to "take all reasonable measures to ensure safe and unhindered physical access... for all persons seeking health services".

The court singled out municipalities, the health department and the

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