JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Soldiers were deployed to the streets of South Africa’s biggest city Wednesday in an effort to help police fight gang violence and illegal mining.
It was the first major deployment since President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his annual speech to the nation last month that he would use the army against organized crime, which he called the greatest threat to democracy and the country's economic development.
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A resident uses a mobile phone to take a photograph of the South African National Defense Force officers deployed in the area, in the Riverlea township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A man watches on South African National Defense Force officers patrolling the street in the Westbury township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Force officers search suspects, in the Westbury township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Forces deploy in the Riverlea township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Forces deploy in the Riverlea township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Forces deploy in the Riverlea township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Forces deploy in the Riverlea township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Forces deploy in the RIverlea township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Soldiers jumped from vehicles and entered apartment blocks as military vehicles moved through the Riverlea and Westbury suburbs of Johannesburg.
Many residents of Riverlea expressed relief to see soldiers deployed to stem the violence.
One resident, Pearl Hilma, told The Associated Press that she supports the crackdown “because there’s lots of gangsterism as well as gunshots every night” in the neighborhood.
Some of the buildings in the area have graffiti signs denouncing the scourge of crime, with one near a school reading “No to Guns, Pray for our Community.”
South Africa's police and the Department of Defense, which oversees the military, did not immediately provide details on the deployment.
Authorities had previously said the military deployment in different parts of the country would start March 1, but it was delayed while soldiers received training. The army will operate under police command during the deployment.
Another resident, Yasin Botha, said the presence of both police and military reassured him that there would be a quick reaction now when shootings occur.
“Currently, I feel unsafe because we don’t know when the next shooting is going to happen and we don’t know who it is targeted at,” Botha said.
Ramaphosa said in a notice to the Speaker of Parliament that 550 soldiers would be involved in an initial deployment in the Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, due to last until the end of April.
The government plans a wider deployment in five of its nine provinces, according to details submitted by police to Parliament. 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.
Parts of the national deployment could last more than a year, police officials said.
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 around 62 million people, while there are also high numbers of attempted murders and violent assaults.
South Africa has deployed the army several times in recent years to help with outbursts of crime and disorder, including in 2021, when riots and looting in two provinces sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma and frustrations over COVID-19 lockdowns led to the deaths of more than 350 people.
Ramaphosa has said that the deployment of soldiers was carefully considered given the army was used to crush pro-democracy protests during South Africa's decades of enforced racial segregation under the apartheid system, which ended in 1994.
But he said it had “become necessary due to a surge in violent organized crime that threatens the safety of our people and the authority of the state.”
The deployment has largely been welcomed, though some political parties have said it is an admission that police have largely failed to curb crime.
Associated Press writer Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa contributed to this report.
This spelling of a resident's name has been corrected to Yasin Botha in the ninth paragraph.
AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
A resident uses a mobile phone to take a photograph of the South African National Defense Force officers deployed in the area, in the Riverlea township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A man watches on South African National Defense Force officers patrolling the street in the Westbury township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Force officers search suspects, in the Westbury township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Forces deploy in the Riverlea township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Forces deploy in the Riverlea township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Forces deploy in the Riverlea township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Forces deploy in the Riverlea township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Forces deploy in the RIverlea township of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
