South Africa deploys 25,000 troops in violence hit areas to quell riots

25,000 South African troops began taking up positions on Thursday, 165 July 2021, in one of the largest troop deployments since the end of white minority rule to help stop the weeklong disturbances provoked by the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma. According to police, at least 117 people have died as a result of the violence. 

10,000 soldiers were patrolling the streets

By Thursday morning, the government reported that 10,000 soldiers were patrolling the streets alongside police, and the South African National Defence Force had activated its entire reserve force of 12,000 troops. A convoy of more than a dozen armoured personnel carriers delivered soldiers into Gauteng province, South Africa's most populated, which encompasses Johannesburg, the country's largest metropolis, and Pretoria, the capital.

Buses, vehicles, planes, and helicopters were also utilised to transport the big contingent of troops to trouble zones in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, where violence erupted primarily in poverty-stricken areas. Last week, the turmoil broke out when Zuma began serving a 15-month term for contempt of court for refusing to testify at a state-backed inquiry into charges of corruption while he was president from 2009 to 2018.

Protests in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal soon developed into a thievery spree in township areas, however, the crime has not spread to the country's other seven provinces, where police are on high alert. According to Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, acting minister in the president, more than 2,200 people have been arrested for theft, and 117 people have died. According to authorities, many people were killed in wild stampedes while shops were being plundered.

“These are not demonstrations. This is economic sabotage and we are investigating with a view to apprehending the instigators,” Ntshavheni said. 

She further stated that one person has been arrested and 11 others are being watched for encouraging and planning the unrest.

Armed patrols have brought stability to Gauteng

Authorities claim that the armed patrols have brought stability to Gauteng. The massive Maponya mall in Soweto, which was one of the few shopping areas not seriously damaged by the rampage but remained closed, was guarded by army forces. 

In March 2020, 70,000 army troops were sent out to enforce the country's stringent lockdown to battle the spread of COVID-19, the greatest deployment of soldiers since South Africa gained democracy in 1994.

(With Inputs from AP)