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South Africa to deploy army to quell anti-immigrant attacks

The government had vowed to crack down strongly on the unrest, but the decision to put soldiers on the streets came after two nights of relative quiet in both cities/AFP

The government had vowed to crack down strongly on the unrest, but the decision to put soldiers on the streets came after two nights of relative quiet in both cities/AFP

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Apr 21 – South African soldiers will be deployed in Johannesburg to quell anti-immigrant violence that has killed at least seven people in several weeks of unrest, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said Tuesday.

Police have struggled to contain mobs who have been attacking foreigners from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and other African countries in both the economic capital Johannesburg and in the port city of Durban.

The government had vowed to crack down strongly on the unrest, but the decision to put soldiers on the streets came after two nights of relative quiet in both cities.

“We come in as the last resort, the army will serve as a deterrent against the crime that we see,” Mapisa-Nqakula told reporters, declining to give details on how many troops would be involved.

“There are people who will be critical but those who are vulnerable will appreciate this decision,” she said.

“Now we deploying because there is an emergency.

“We are not here to take over the work of the police. We are simply here to give support to what the police are trying to do in their efforts to prevent a continuation with what we have seen.”

The spate of attacks has revived memories of xenophobic bloodshed in 2008, when 62 people were killed in Johannesburg’s townships, shaking South Africa’s post-apartheid image as a “rainbow nation” of different ethnic groups.

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