South African authorities have deployed army in some parts of Cape Town where gang-infected violent incidents have spiked in recent weeks. There is already a heavy police presence in Bonteheuwel, Delft, Hanover Park and Philippi East townships.
Police Minister Bheki Cele said the soldiers will work alongside the police in an operation to recover illegal firearms and drugs.
“It can’t continue, people are dying,” Cele said on Thursday while presenting his departmental budget speech, reported Reuters. “We’ll have to do something extra”.
Cele said that he had asked president Cyril Ramaphosa for permission to use the army, with deployment starting from Friday morning.
“We have started to deploy extra police and tomorrow we are sealing off the Cape Flats with the South African Defence Force, the special forces, and the South African police,” he said. “We’ll make sure that the people of these places are finally safe.”
Cele said that some of the areas where the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is being deployed are Khayelitsha, Phillipi, Harare, Gugulethu, eMfuleni, Kraaifontein, Mitchell’s Plain, Bishop’s Lavis, Delft, Elsies River, and Nyanga.
Cape Town, which is known for its stunning tourist attractions, including Robben Island and Table Mountain, also has some of the country’s highest murder rates.
At least 13 people were killed in 24 hours last weekend in one of the violence-hit parts of the city. Some 2,000 people have been killed since January.
The gang violence in Cape Town goes back many decades. The recent upsurge in violence is due to a turf war between rival gangs, fuelled by retaliation attacks.
The deployment of several hundred soldiers will happen from July to October. It follows a visit by Police Minister Bheki Cele to the Philippi shanty town on the Cape Flats after several murders last week.
