South Africa plans to deploy army as soldiers take to the streets

South Africa is set to deploy its military to tackle rampant crime, with President Cyril Ramaphosa calling the move essential for the country's future. The deployment, an unusual step for Africa's leading democracy, will target organized crime, gang violence and illegal mining in areas plagued by some of the world's highest rates of violent crime.

President Ramaphosa said the troops would be sent to deal with “the most immediate threats” to South Africa's democracy and economic development. The operation will take place in three of the country's nine provinces, although no specific timeline has been provided for deployment. However, the decision has drawn criticism, with some observers suggesting that the military's involvement signals an admission that the Ramaphosa government is struggling to control the rising crime wave.

With a population of approximately 3.8 million, the stunningly beautiful cape town The second largest city in South Africa and one of its top tourist attractions.

But the neighborhoods on its outskirts, known as the Cape Flats, are notorious for deadly gang violence.

street gangs with names like AmericansThe Hard Livings and the Terrible Jesters have been struggling for control of the illegal drug trade for years, while they are also involved in extortion rackets, prostitution and contract killings.

Bystanders, including children, are often caught in the crossfire and killed in gang-related shootings. According to the latest crime statistics, the three police precincts in South Africa with the highest crime rates are in and around Cape Town.

Ramaphosa said a part of the army would be deployed Western Cape The province, where Cape Town is located and which statistics say accounts for about 90% of the country's gang-related murders, occurs.

There will also be army deployment in two other provinces, he said: Gautengwhose house is johannesburgthe largest city in South Africa, and Eastern Cape province.

outskirts of johannesburg more comprehensive Gauteng The province is littered with abandoned mine shafts and authorities there have long battled illegal gold mining.

He says mining gangs, known as zama zama, are typically run by heavily armed crime syndicates who are ruthless in protecting their operations. They use “informal miners” recruited from desperate and poor communities to go into the mines, searching for precious reserves that remain.

These gangs are often linked to high-profile violence, including a 2022 case that shocked South Africa when about 80 alleged illegal miners were accused of gang-raping eight women who were part of a music video shoot in an abandoned mine.

Last year, at least 87 miners were killed in a standoff between police and illegal miners at an abandoned mine after police took a heavy-handed approach and cut off their food supplies in an attempt to force them out.

Analysts say illegal miners are often involved in other crimes in nearby communities, and fighting between rival gangs has forced people to abandon their homes and seek safety elsewhere.

Authorities say there are an estimated 30,000 illegal miners in South Africa, working in some of its 6,000 abandoned mine shafts.

The government has seen an increase in illegal mining, which is estimated to be worth more than $4 billion worth of gold per year due to criminal syndicates.

It is believed that the trade is mainly controlled by immigrants from neighboring countries. Lesotho, zimbabweAnd mozambiqueprovoking anger among people south african community against both criminal bosses and foreigners living in the local community.

Ramaphosa is well aware that South Africans old enough to remember the years of forced racial segregation under the apartheid system that ended in 1994 will likely also recall images of troops deployed to suppress pro-democracy protests.

Bearing in mind that painful past, he said it was important not to deploy the military “without any good reason”.

But he said it has now become necessary “due to the increase in violent organized crime that threatens the security of our people and the authority of the State.”

Ramaphosa tried to calm concerns by saying that the army would operate under police command.

There have also been other recent deployments south african Soldier. In 2023, troops took to the streets after concerns grew over widespread public disorder following a series of truck burnings. And about 25,000 troops were deployed in 2021 to suppress violent riots sparked by the former president's imprisonment jacob juma.

South Africa also used troops to enforce strict lockdown rules during the early months covid-19 pandemics in 2020.

Crime experts have expressed concern over Ramaphosa's latest deployment plans, stressing that the army is not a long-term solution to fighting crime and that soldiers are not experts in domestic law enforcement.

The country's police minister Firoz Cachalia has supported Ramaphosa and stressed that the military will work in support of the police and “their operations in particular locations”.

He said the deployment is time-limited and aimed at stabilizing areas “where people are losing their lives every day”.