Scores of foreigners have taken refuge at Western Cape police stations following looting and burning of township shops owned by foreigners.

Spokeswoman for provincial disaster management Daniella Ebenezer said that 70 foreigners had sought refuge overnight at Mbekweni police station in Paarl and 22 at Wellington.

There were smaller numbers at police stations in Franschhoek, and Langa and Harare on the Cape Flats.

They had gone to the stations “mainly because they were fearful”, but in some instances following attacks on shops.

Ebenezer said there were “sporadic” attacks on shops on Saturday in the region, and “some incidents of looting” on Sunday.

No-one had been seriously injured.

She said that according to police, on Sunday spaza shops and containers also used as shops were “damaged” in Mbekweni, Paarl East, Wellington and Nyanga.

The province and municipalities were ready with contingency plans, she said.

Die Burger newspaper reported on Monday that shortly before midnight on Sunday, police advised foreigners, mainly Somalis, to leave the Cape Flats township of Nyanga, and escorted numbers of them out of the area.

The newspaper carried a photograph of Somali spaza shops in flames in Philippi, also on the Cape Flats.