MPUMALANGA police are searching for four men who shot and wounded a Somali national during an armed robbery near Nelspruit yesterday morning.

KaNyamazane police spokesperson Andrew Skwambane said the perpetrators entered the shop in Msogwaba Trust owned by Abdullah Ali and Gurf Salomon and demanded money.

"When the victims noticed that there were extra people inside the shop, they confronted the robbers.

"Then a fight ensued and several shots were fired by the criminals.

"Ali was shot twice in the leg as he tried to hide under a table," Skwambane said.

"The criminals managed to accost Salomon and took an undisclosed amount of cash before leaving the shop," he said.

Skwambane said when passers-by heard the gunshots they phoned the police.

He said when police arrived at the shop they found Ali bleeding while his friend was trying to help him.

Ali was taken to the local hospital where he was said to be recovering.

"After the robbery, the same criminals hijacked a truck that was delivering bread at a nearby tuck-shop.

"After three hours, the community members alerted the police about the whereabouts of the hijacked truck.

"When they (criminals) saw the police, they jumped out of the vehicle and managed to run away," Skwambane said.

He urged people with information to contact the nearest police station.

Meanwhile, Calcutta police are still searching for four thugs who robbed Pakistani businessmen of an undisclosed amount of cash inside their shop last week.

Police said the four broke into the shop through the roof and stole the cash.

They stuffed the money into an 80kg bag of mealie meal and fled.