South Africa sent soldiers into the streets of Johannesburg. This is a new move to deal with the growing crime and gang problems in the city, which is its biggest. This decision comes about a month after President Cyril Ramaphosa said on February 12 that the army would join police to fight organized crime. He called this the biggest danger to the country’s democracy and economy.
On Wednesday, soldiers were seen walking around Eldorado Park, a working-class area in Johannesburg that’s known for a lot of gangs and violent crime. Local news showed pictures of military armored vehicles going into the area. Independent Online reported that local council member Juwairiya Kaldine liked the deployment, saying people there have been dealing with gang violence for a long time. Soldiers were also seen in Riverlea, a nearby area. Reports said they were going door-to-door there as part of the security effort. Officials haven’t given many details about this yet. But the president had told parliament earlier that an initial group of 550 soldiers would go to Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, to help police with gang violence and illegal mining. Ramaphosa said these soldiers are expected to stay until the end of April, as part of the plan to bring back order in the region.
South Africa has sent soldiers into Johannesburg to help fight the growing crime and gang problems in its biggest city. This move follows an announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa on February 12. He had said that the military would join police efforts against organized crime, which he sees as a big threat to the country’s democracy and economy. On Wednesday, soldiers were seen walking through Eldorado Park, a working-class area in Johannesburg known for a lot of gangs and violence. Pictures in local news showed army vehicles driving into the neighborhood.
A local councilor, Juwairiya Kaldine, reportedly welcomed the soldiers, saying people in the area have been dealing with gang violence for a long time. Soldiers were also spotted in Riverlea, another nearby area, where they were reportedly doing house-to-house searches as part of the security effort. The authorities haven’t given many details about this deployment yet. But the president had previously told parliament that 550 soldiers would first go to Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, to help police with gang violence and illegal mining. Ramaphosa said these soldiers are expected to stay until the end of April, as part of the plan to bring back order.
South Africa sent soldiers into Johannesburg to help fight the growing crime and gang problems there.
So, this happened almost a month after President Ramaphosa said in his big speech on February 12th that the army would be helping the police. He basically said that organized crime was the biggest danger to our country’s democracy and economy, and that the military would be helping to fight it.
On Wednesday, soldiers were seen in Eldorado Park, a working-class area of Johannesburg that’s known for a lot of gangs and violent crime. Local news outlets showed pictures of armored military vehicles going into the neighborhood.
Independent Online mentioned that local councillor Juwairiya Kaldine was happy about the soldiers being there, because people in the area have really been dealing with gang violence for a long time.
We also saw soldiers in Riverlea, which is close by. It sounds like they were going door-to-door there as part of their security work.We haven’t gotten many details from the authorities about this deployment yet. But the president had already told parliament that they’d send an initial group of 550 soldiers to Gauteng province, which is where Johannesburg is, to help the police deal with gang violence and illegal mining. Ramaphosa also mentioned that these soldiers should stay until the end of April. It’s all part of the plan to get things back to normal in that area.
