The African Union (AU) on Tuesday condemned the increasing violence in South Africa that has resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians, reported CGTN Africa.
In a statement, AU chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said the deaths of civilians, cases of the looting of public and private property, destruction of infrastructure, and the suspension of essential services in the Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal provinces, were quite disturbing.
The AU chief paid condolences to the victims’ families and wished a rapid recovery to those injured during the week-long violent clashes.
“The Chairperson calls for an urgent restoration of order, peace and stability in the country in full respect of the rule of law,” the AU statement read.
The AU chief stressed that the failure to restore peace and stability can have grave impacts not only on the country but the region as a whole.
The violence erupted after former South African president Jacob Zuma started serving his 15-month sentence last week. The apex court had ordered Zuma to surrender himself with the police as he failed to comply with the court’s order to testify before an inquiry commission investigating allegations of corruption during his tenure as the country’s president from 2009 to 2018.
A total of 72 people had lost their lives as of Tuesday, with 1,234 being arrested for their role in the violence.
On Tuesday, South Africa’s National Department of Health said that health services were disrupted in the country due to the ongoing protests.
The health department’s spokesperson Popo Maja said the protests have affected the vaccination rollout and access to essential healthcare services at vaccine centers in some districts and areas in both KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
He said the health department was working with the security departments to ensure that health services especially at vaccine centers were properly restored.
