The Prime Minister of war-torn Somalia, Abdi Farah Shirdon, has spoken out against attacks on his countrymen living in South Africa.
Shirdon called on government to protect Somalis after a spate of attacks.
“I appeal to the Government of the Republic of South Africa as a matter of urgency to intervene and contain this unnecessary and unfortunate violence against Somali business communities to preserve peace and stability,” said Shirdon in an open letter to President Jacob Zuma.
A Somali shopkeeper was brutally stoned to death by a mob in Port Elizabeth and in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, shops were looted after a Somali man allegedly shot dead two suspected robbers, one of them a Zimbabwean.
Police have made several arrests while government has condemned the attacks, which are reminiscent of the wave of xenophobic violence in 2008 that left at least 60 foreigners dead.
Foreign shop owners are sometimes targeted because they set up cash businesses in poor communities and serve as competition to local businesses.
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