“Through the rally, we want to tell the authorities that Somali refugees in South Africa want asylum and justice” said the spearhead of Somali community.

Two South African policemen, who were accused of killing a Somali refugee, on Thursday, are to face trial in Cape Town, becoming the first such trial in South Africa.
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Abdurrahman Rage, the leader of the Somali community in South Africa, told state-run Radio Mogadishu that the policemen are part of counter-terrorism forces of South Africa.

He said the South African policemen were charged with intentionally killing a Somali refugee while he was at a mosque in Cape Town on Feb. 23.

Rage said that Somali community, mainly traders who have small businesses in the country, will hold a peaceful rally at the front gate of the court that will hear case of the murdered Somali refugee.

“Through the rally, we want to tell the authorities that Somali refugees in South Africa want asylum and justice,” he said.

Rage noted that hundreds of Somali refugees have been killed by gangsters.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has estimated more than 7,118 refugees from Somalia live in South Africa.

From 2002 to 2010, more than 700 Somalis were killed by South African gangs while trying to rob or loot their belongings.

In the last few years, South African gangs have launched brutal attacks against the Somali community, burning refugees alive or beating them to death. South African police say that xenophobia is the main motivation in the attacks.

In mid-January, a Somali shopkeeper was burnt to death when a gang of robbers attacked his shop in Samora Machel Township in the Western Cape.

allheadlinenews.com

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