Two Somali shopkeepers shot dead near Cape Town

Two Somali shopkeepers in Capetown, South Africa, were killed by gunmen, according to Somali traders.

Abdikarim Abdullahi Mohamud and Abdullahi Dheere were shot dead by bandits who attacked their business in the Gugulethu township in the Western Cape.

The killers escaped from the murder scene, and no arrests have been made in connection with the double homicide.

South African police officers said that investigations are underway.

The victims’ bodies were collected by local Somali traders who are preparing them for burial.

Somali shopkeepers have frequently targeted deadly xenophobic attacks in South Africa by rival native business owners. The relative quick success gained by working in a spaza shop – a convenience store that sells basic groceries –  after arriving in the country as economic migrants breeds resentment in a country where youth employment is over 35%.

In early June, two other Somali shopkeepers where shot dead in Western Cape after being targeted in their respective shops.

No arrests have been made in those murders.