JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Soldiers were deployed on the streets of South Africa’s biggest city on Wednesday after the president announced plans last month to use the army to help police fight gang violence and illegal mining.
The soldiers were seen in the Johannesburg suburb of Riverlea in the first major deployment since President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his annual speech to the nation that organized crime was the greatest threat to South Africa’s democracy and economic development.
South Africa’s police and the Department of Defense, which oversees the military, did not immediately provide details on the deployment.
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