South Africa is deploying more than 500 soldiers in response to months of anti-migrant protests. President Cyril Ramaphosa said 510 members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were being sent to the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal to help support police.
Violence Erupts After Court Ruling
The deployment follows violence that recently erupted in Durban, the region’s biggest city and third biggest in the country, over a court ruling on asylum seekers. The presidency said the deployment follows “recent violent actions arising from a campaign of misinformation” about the Constitutional Court ruling that removed procedural barriers for people seeking asylum in South Africa.
Protests against the court’s decision on October 8 have been held in KwaZulu-Natal and the north-eastern province of Gauteng. It follows months of anti-migrant tensions, with demonstrators calling for the deportation of foreigners living in South Africa illegally.
Operation Prosper and Impact
The troops will operate as part of a joint police-military mission known as Operation Prosper, building on an existing intervention to combat gang violence and illegal mining. The deployment is expected to run until the end of November, with an estimated cost of about 34 million rand (£1.5 million). It will see soldiers “on standby to support the police for any eventuality that may occur”.
The announcement of the military deployment comes nearly a week before South Africa’s local government elections next Wednesday. Tens of thousands of migrants, mainly from other African countries, have left South Africa following a crackdown on undocumented migration and fears of violence.
Hotspot Tensions
Durban has become a hotspot for anti-migrant tensions which have soared this year. Vehicles were burned and foreign-owned shops were looted in Durban and Soweto, a township outside Johannesburg, earlier this month, local reports say. The presidency said the military deployment began the day after the clashes.
Also in Durban, police said a foreign national was beaten to death by a group of about 50 people during a march in the city centre last week. Military deployments to support police are not new in South Africa, with soldiers having also been used to tackle gang violence and illegal mining. Thousands of troops were also deployed across South Africa earlier this year to bolster security and support police over anti-migrant protests, including in Durban and areas of Johannesburg, the country’s largest city.
