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Relatives of Omar Faruk Swapan, killed in South Africa on Wednesday, break down in tears at his village home in Noakhali.
A Bangladeshi shopkeeper has been shot dead in South Africa’s Limpopo province, his family says.
Omar Faruk Swapan, 45, who hailed from Noakhali, ran a shop at a local supermarket.
Armed assailants attacked and looted his shop on Wednesday.
His brother Md Rana told bdnews24.that Swapan had settled in South Africa in 2012.
Quoting locals, Rana said several armed men went to the shop on Wednesday and demanded extortion money.
They shot him in the head after he refused to pay money.
Several Bangladeshis rushed him to hospital but he died there.
Swapan’s family has sought the government’s assistance to bring back the body.
Foreigners in South Africa came under attack in late March after Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini incited the locals saying foreigners should “go back to their countries”.
But he claimed his remarks were taken out of context and that he opposed violence.
Official data suggest there are about two million foreign nationals in South Africa, about 4 percent of the total population. But some estimates put the number at five million.
Many South Africans accuse them of taking jobs in a country where the unemployment rate is 24 percent.
It is, however, unclear whether Wednesday’s incident came in the aftermath of the hate-speech.
At least seven people have been killed in the attacks since March with thousands of foreigners fleeing to neighbouring countries leaving behind their businesses.
An estimated 60,000 to 70,000 Bangladeshis are living in South Africa, according to official data but the actual number is believed to be higher.
Source: Bd news24
