The South African government will send 25,000 troops to the ravaged provinces / Article

The government of the Republic of South Africa (South Africa) will send another 25,000 troops to cities where riots and looting have been going on for almost a week. Currently, about 5,000 soldiers are helping to put the police in order, but so far this has not worked.

Such a large army presence in Southeastern cities will not be experienced since the end of the infamous apartheid regime in 1994. Many companies have been forced to close due to the crisis, but in some places there is a shortage of food and other basic necessities.

Yet at least 72 people have died, but more than 1,700 have been arrested in riots that have taken over the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng since last Friday.

During the riots, countless supermarkets and warehouses were looted and set on fire.

Durban needs reinforcements as there is no visible policing currently with wide scale looting #ShutdownSA pic.twitter.com/q6rWmvOb20

– Abdul Sacoor (@als2010) July 12, 2021

Some cities have formed armed groups of volunteers to protect local businesses from invasions and looting. As a result, the government has come under pressure to take more troops to the streets to quell widespread riots.

Violent protests in the country began after last Thursday, former President Jacob Zuma surrendered to police to begin serving a 15-month prison sentence for evading testimony in a corruption investigation.

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