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South Africa combats unrest after ex-leader’s imprisonment

Published:Wednesday | July 14, 2021 | 1:36 PM
Men shout as they try to enter a shopping mall in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. South Africa's rioting continued Wednesday as police and the military struggle to quell the violence in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. The violence started in various parts of KwaZulu-Natal last week when ex-leader Jacob Zuma began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African police and the army struggled to bring order Wednesday to areas rocked by weeklong unrest and days of looting sparked by the imprisonment last week of ex-President Jacob Zuma.

More than 200 violent incidents happened in poor areas of the Kwa-Zulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces overnight, the government said Wednesday, a week after the protests started.

The deployment of army soldiers to assist police has been doubled to 5,000 after the days of rioting in which more than 72 people have been killed and 1,234 arrested, according to police.

Many of the deaths were caused by chaotic stampedes as thousands of people ransacked shops, stealing food, electrical appliances, liquor and clothes, police Major General Mathapelo Peters said.

The violence erupted last week after Zuma began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court for refusing to comply with a court order to testify at a state-backed inquiry investigating allegations of corruption while he was president from 2009 to 2018.

The protests in Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu-Natal provinces escalated into a spree of theft in township areas, although it has not spread to South Africa's other seven provinces, where police are on alert.

A tense order appeared to have been achieved Wednesday by security forces in Gauteng, South Africa's most populous province which includes the largest city, Johannesburg.

“I can confirm that currently it's calm in Gauteng,” said army Colonel Mmathapelo Maine, as soldiers brandishing rifles stood by, protecting the large Maponya mall in Soweto.

“We have control of the situation and this is with the cooperation of the community,” said Maine.

Across the street scores of residents lined up to buy bread from a truck that was selling directly to people instead of delivering to shops that had been closed.

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