Johannesburg  - Several dozen Bangladeshis protested to police in the South African town of Bloemspruit Wednesday over what they said was a fresh incidence of xenophobic violence.

They expressed concern over their safety after a Bangladeshi shop owner was accosted by 25 people in his shop in the town and told to close for good or be shot, Free State police said in a statement.

"They then stole his cellphone and cash and left with a promise to come back," spokeswoman Sergeant Thandi Mbambo was quoted by the Sapa news agency as saying.

Two Bangladeshis and other foreign shop owners were shot in similar attacks in the area recently, police said.

"We suspect that these are just criminal elements who are terrorising this community so as to gain access to their businesses," Free State police commissioner Amon Mashigo was quoted as saying.

Quick-spreading xenophobic attacks that erupted in South Africa in May left at least 62 people dead, hundreds injured and tens of thousands displaced. (dpa)