South Africa, (insidesomalia.org)- A Somali businessman lost all his belongings and money at the weekend after Walmer Township residents were allegedly told to loot his shop by four gunmen who had just robbed him.

The four men robbed Ibrahim Abdul Osman‘s Madiba Supermarket of R8000 from the cash register, cellphones and airtime vouchers worth R2500 at about 8.30pm on Saturday in an incident linked to growing tension among Somali businessmen in Walmer.

Frustrated Somalis gathered at Osman‘s shop yesterday to give him moral support.

Osman, who trades and lives at his shop with three countrymen, said the men had cut the electricity cable before entering the shop.

“They told us to lie on the floor and took the money, cigarettes and airtime vouchers. They fired a shot, and later a crowd of people came into the shop and took anything they could carry,” he said.

“I have not experienced such violence since I opened the business in 2004. I did not sleep last night.

“I don‘t know what I am going to do now, but I will not return to Somalia.

“I don‘t think this is a xenophobic incident. It is linked to Somali business tension.”

He thought the incident might stem from the opening of a shop in Walmer by another Somali despite an agreement between the council, Somali and local businessmen that there would be no more shops in the area.

“We agreed in 2004 that there would be no more Somali shops opening in Walmer to allow local businessmen to survive, but since the new shop opened there has been a lot of tension among us,” Osman said.

There are 28 registered Somali-owned shops in Walmer Township.

Ward committee member Matthew Gqirana was also outside the Madiba Supermarket to give support to the Somalis.

“We don‘t have a problem trading with them. They are our brothers.

“We can‘t allow these guys to die. We are prepared to stand with them in whatever they are going through,” he said.

“We are doing everything we can to diffuse the tension.”

One resident said the community had good relations with the Somalis.

Port Elizabeth police spokesman Captain Sandra van Rensburg said a case of armed robbery was being investigated.