More than 2,200 South Africans had been arrested, said the minister in the presidential office, Khumbuzo Ntshaveni, on Thursday. Among them is a man who is said to be the instigator behind the wave of looting.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has also approved the mobilization of a further 25,000 soldiers – a total of 10,000 had already been deployed on Thursday, the minister said. After around 100 acts of violence had been counted the day before, there were fewer than three dozen on Thursday.
All available reservists received marching orders, the army said in a statement late Wednesday evening. They should report to their units on Thursday with all their equipment. Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula had informed parliament on Wednesday evening about the planned operation, as she told the TV channel eNCA.
Although there were still isolated indications of looting, the clean-up work began in many places on Thursday. Initial estimates assume damage in the hundreds of millions and around 20,000 jobs destroyed.
“People are preparing for war”
The supply bottlenecks announced by President Ramaphosa made themselves felt in the Alexandra township near Johannesburg, but also in the port city of Durban. There were miles of queues in front of gas stations that were still open. After fighting over the scarce gasoline, soldiers secured the place. The aerial photographs also showed long queues of more than a hundred meters in front of the grocery stores that were still open.
Police Minister Bheki Cele announced the discovery of tens of thousands of rounds of live ammunition in a suburb of Durban late on Wednesday evening in front of the camera. He told TV channel Newzroom Africa: “Some people are preparing for war.” It is wrong for people to plunder just out of hunger – some also armed themselves. “A dangerous situation,” he said without further explanation. According to official information, 15 people were killed in the suburb of Phoenix in tensions with the Indian population – Cele spoke of “ugly scenes” there. Durban – a twin city of Bremen – has had a strong Indian population since the colonial days.
Zuma imprisonment as a trigger
The province of KwaZulu-Natal on the east coast and the metropolitan area around the large cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria (Gauteng Province) are particularly hard hit by the violence. The government mobilized the military because the police outnumbered the looters. Meanwhile, civil vigilante groups and neighborhood groups are also forming. The influential taxi companies are now also trying to prevent attacks on important infrastructure. They had also been directed against clinics, drug stores and even schools.
The riots had started with protests against the imprisonment of ex-President Jacob Zuma from KwaZulu-Natal. A week ago he was sentenced to 15 months in prison for disregarding the judiciary. The protests quickly developed into large-scale riots. The military is now to be deployed primarily in the two affected provinces. With a total of 30,000 soldiers mobilized, according to the military expert Darren Olivier, the entire armed forces of the Cape State would be deployed. It is therefore unclear whether South Africa can, as planned, participate in an aid force of the regional alliance of states, SADC, for the fight against terrorism in the neighboring state of Mozambique.
