JOHANNESBURG — President Donald Trump is claiming that South Africa is seizing farms and that high numbers of farmers are being killed in the country. His comments have intensified an ongoing controversy over the government’s plans to redistribute land to blacks who had been forced off their land during the previous system of racial discrimination, known as apartheid.

Trump tweeted on the topic shortly after Fox News ran a segment about South Africa’s land issue.

A look at Trump’s comments and the reality behind the land situation in South Africa:

TRUMP: “I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers.” — tweet Thursday.

THE FACTS: While the killings of farmers have been taking place for more than 20 years and are widely seen as part of South Africa’s high crime rate, experts say white farmers have not been the target. Nor are there signs of widespread killings.