Sunday 19 Oct 2025 {HMC} Somali-owned shops across several Cape Town townships remained closed for a fourth straight day on Sunday after a string of armed attacks killed three Somali nationals and left two others injured, community leaders said.
The violence, concentrated in the townships of Philippi, Nyanga, and Khayelitsha, has sparked fear among hundreds of Somali traders who operate small convenience stores in low-income neighborhoods. Witnesses said armed gangs raided and looted Somali-owned shops in recent days, prompting mass closures as traders fled for safety.
The three victims were buried the same afternoon at the Muslim cemetery in Mowbray, Cape Town. Two others remain hospitalized with gunshot and stab wounds, according to local community members.
South Africa has experienced periodic surges of violence against foreign nationals, particularly African migrants who dominate informal trade sectors. Somali traders, who fled conflict and poverty in search of stability, have frequently been targeted in xenophobic attacks that officials often attribute to economic tension and criminal opportunism.
“This is not the first time we have buried our people,” said one Somali shop owner in Khayelitsha. “We came here looking for peace, but every few months we face the same violence.
Source HIIraan Online
