South Africa has deployed troops in two provinces to end protests | News in South Africa

Sending troops comes after six people were killed during protests in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

The South African military is said to be deploying troops in two provinces, including the Johannesburg financial center, to help police crack down on burglary and burning business.

This comes as the country’s Supreme Court began hearing Monday’s case against former President Jacob Zuma for 15 months in jail.

Police say six people have been killed and more than 200 arrested in connection with protests and thefts since last week.

“The South African Armed Forces has launched a pre-operative plan in line with the request for assistance … to assist law enforcement agencies set up in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in the region to end the violence that has plagued both regions in recent days,” he said. South Africa said in a statement on Monday.

Zuma, 79, has been sentenced for refusing to comply with an international criminal law to testify in the investigation of a major criminal case during his nine years in office until 2018.

The idea of ​​arresting him for what he considered to be South Africa’s post-apartheid test in order to legislate, including powerful politicians.

At the hearing, Zuma’s appeal appealed to the court to suspend the arrest, citing the need for a review of the verdicts if they were available if no one was involved or had a patent breach.

Fahmida Miller of Al Jazeera, an exhibitor from Johannesburg, said legal experts believe the chances of a court overturning their previous ruling are slim.

“Presidential lawyers say they did not choose to appear before the Constitutional Court. They say they were ill because of this. They expect the court to overturn its previous ruling,” Miller said.

Violence and looting

Repeated violence and kidnappings continued on Monday after riots over the weekend by Zuma’s observers, particularly in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

Other problems spread to the country’s largest city, Johannesburg.

Just before the announcement, the troops appeared on the streets of their capital, Pietermaritzburg, and smoke billowed from the roof of the main market.

A Durban shop was hijacked on Monday morning while in Eshowe, a town near Zuma’s Nkandla homestead, police fired shots to disperse the crowd after a supermarket was vandalized.

In Johannesburg, Gauteng, an AFP press photographer saw a corpse in one place. The cause of his death was not immediately known. Parts of the highway were closed.

Some of the protests appear to have been sparked by Zuma’s arrest, but also to the lack of employment and the problems that result from anti-COVID measures.