Cape Town — The South African Cabinet has condemned the recent violence perpetrated against Somali shop owners in Motherwell, Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape.

"Somalis and other immigrants must be assured of the government's rejection of violence against them and our commitment to ensure that lasting solutions are found to the causes of the conflict and tensions," the Cabinet said in a statement released today following its weekly meeting.

The comment was made in response to the looting and burning of Somali businesses in Motherwell last week. Port Elizabeth newspaper The Herald reported that the violence broke out after a Somali shopkeeper accidentally shot a 15-year-old bystander during a robbery.

The Cabinet said it "fully supports the initiatives of provincial and local leaders to prevent any further violence. Our Police services will and must deal with anyone found to be inciting violence and attacks."

It called on South Africans to "exercise restraint in dealing with difficult issues and to discourage people from taking the law into their own hands… We should all be reminded that we are a peace-loving nation and our national interests will never be served by creating the impression that our African brothers and sisters are not welcome in our country."

Business rivalries in poor communities last year resulted in the reported killing of more than 30 Somali refugees in violence in and around Cape Town in the Western Cape.