South Africa’s president has authorized a yearlong deployment by the army to fight crime in some of the country’s violence-stricken areas.
The move has underlined how Africa’s leading economy has struggled to reign in its high rates of violent crime.
A look at the deployment by the numbers:
SOLDIERS DEPLOYED: 2,200
South Africa’s Constitution requires President Cyril Ramaphosa to advise Parliament of his order to deploy the army. He said in a notice to lawmakers that 2,200 soldiers have been deployed to assist police in law enforcement operations relating to two specific criminal threats: gang-related violence and illegal mining run by criminal syndicates.
DURATION OF DEPLOYMENT: 13 MONTHS
The soldiers will be deployed on the streets from March 1 this year to March 31, 2027, Ramaphosa said.
COST: $49.2 million
While some opposition parties initially questioned the cost of the operation, Ramaphosa’s decision to use the army against crime has
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