{"id":14697,"date":"2026-03-11T15:51:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T15:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=14697"},"modified":"2026-03-11T15:51:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T15:51:00","slug":"south-african-soldiers-deploy-in-johannesburg-to-tackle-crime-and-gangs-crime-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=14697","title":{"rendered":"South African soldiers deploy in Johannesburg to tackle crime and gangs | Crime News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>First troops touch down nearly a month after President Ramaphosa said organised crime threatened country\u2019s democracy.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><button class=\"article-listen-container\" aria-labelledby=\"listen-text listen-duration\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-button\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-listen-container__text\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-text\">Listen to this article<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"article-listen-container__duration\">3 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><button tabindex=\"0\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><svg class=\"icon icon--info icon--main-grey-dark icon--16 listen-to-article-tooltip__icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"><title>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"byline byline--single-avatar\">\n<div class=\"avatars-container\">\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2017-06-08T131939Z_1189275883_RC11B0FE7F20_RTRMADP_3_GULF-QATAR-JAZEERA-1714943623.jpg?resize=96%2C96&amp;quality=80 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 96px) 96px, 96px\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 11 Mar 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">11 Mar 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"google-preferred-source\"><button class=\"google-preferred-source__button\" aria-label=\"Add Al Jazeera on Google\" data-testid=\"google-preferred-source-button\"><svg class=\"icon icon--plus2 icon--primary icon--12 google-preferred-source__add-icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>plus2<\/title><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M10.571 13.429H3.43c-.405 0-.744-.137-1.018-.411A1.382 1.382 0 0 1 2 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16Z\"\/><path fill=\"#FBBC05\" d=\"M4.024 9.519c-.16-.48-.251-.993-.251-1.52s.09-1.04.25-1.52V4.406H1.352A7.997 7.997 0 0 0 .5 8c0 1.29.31 2.513.85 3.593l2.674-2.073Z\"\/><path fill=\"#EA4335\" d=\"M8.5 3.182c1.175 0 2.23.403 3.058 1.196l2.295-2.294C12.467.793 10.656 0 8.5 0a7.997 7.997 0 0 0-7.149 4.407L4.024 6.48C4.653 4.59 6.417 3.182 8.5 3.182Z\"\/><\/g><defs><clippath id=\"a\"><path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M.5 0h16v16H.5z\"\/><\/clippath><\/defs><\/svg><span class=\"google-preferred-source__text\">Add Al Jazeera on Google<\/span><\/button><button tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"See more of Al Jazeera\u2019s trusted journalism by adding us as a preferred source on Google.\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><svg class=\"icon icon--info icon--primary icon--16 google-preferred-source__info-icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p class=\"p1\">Soldiers have been deployed on the streets of South Africa\u2019s biggest city nearly a month after the president announced the army would work alongside the police to tackle high levels of crime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his annual State of the Nation address on February 12 that organised crime was the \u201cmost immediate threat\u201d\u00a0to South Africa\u2019s democracy and economic development.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p class=\"p1\">On Wednesday, troops touched down on the streets of Eldorado Park, a working class suburb in the country\u2019s economic capital, Johannesburg, that has high levels of crime and gang violence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Local media published pictures of armoured vehicles rolling into the area, and the Independent Online reported that local councillor Juwairiya Kaldine welcomed their arrival.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Soldiers were also seen in the Johannesburg suburb of Riverlea. Media reports said the soldiers were searching door-to-door.<\/p>\n<p>South Africa\u2019s national police service and the Department of Defence, which oversees the military, did not immediately provide details on the deployment. But the president said last month that the army will help the police service fight gang violence and illegal mining.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4388950\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4388950\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4388950\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/afp_69b15cee0e51-1773231342.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C514&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers search a building during a patrol operation in Riverlea, near Johannesburg, on March 11, 2026.\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4388950\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">South African soldiers search a building during a patrol operation in Riverlea, near Johannesburg [AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\">Ramaphosa said in a notice to the speaker of parliament that 550 soldiers would be involved in an initial deployment in Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, to help combat crime and preserve law and order.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">That deployment would last until the end of April, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The government plans a wider deployment in five of its nine provinces, according to details submitted by police to parliament.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The deployment will focus on illegal mining in the Gauteng, North West and Free State provinces, and gang violence in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Parts of the national deployment could last more than a year, police officials said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">South Africa has high rates of violent crime. Police reported 6,351 homicides from October to December 2025, an average of nearly 70 a day in a country of about 63 million people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">However, not all residents of crime-affected communities are pleased about the plan to deploy the army.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In the Cape Flats, an impoverished area of the Western Cape with high levels of gang violence, where troops will also likely deploy, people told Al Jazeera last month that the military will not help fix the root causes of the violence or the social ills that make it easy to recruit people into gangs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cIt\u2019s a very dangerous thing to bring the army because there\u2019s an impatience with the fact that the police are not doing their job,\u201d Irvin Kinnes, an associate professor with the University of Cape Town\u2019s Centre for Criminology,\u00a0told Al Jazeera at the time, calling the move \u201cpolitical\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cIt\u2019s to show that the political leaders have kind of heard the public. But the call for the army hasn\u2019t come from the community. It\u2019s come from politicians,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>First troops touch down nearly a month after President Ramaphosa said organised crime threatened country\u2019s democracy. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a03 mins info Published On 11 Mar 202611 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Soldiers have been deployed on the streets of South Africa\u2019s biggest city [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}