2,500 soldiers to be deployed with more to come as 'the country is burning' - SANDF
"When it comes to operations, we don't have feelings - we must have information that we must use so that we can be able to quell the situation," said the SANDF's Mafi Mgobozi.
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) says 2,500 soldiers are to be deployed to violence-ridden hotspot areas.
However, they hope to deploy more very soon.
"The Defence force is doing everything in our power to get more soldiers so we can deploy them in each and every area that they are needed," the SANDF's Mafi Mgobozi told the SABC on Tuesday morning.
"Lots of areas are volatile and we need to cover as many areas as possible," he said.
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Mgobozi said soldiers have been briefed and educated on their task, which is to support the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) and assured the public the armed forces "would behave" and not violate human rights.
He also acknowledged citizen's frustration that violence and looting were rampant with soldiers not yet on the street, saying due processes had to be followed for them to be deployed.
"Yes, I can understand, the country is burning, but...all the deployment we are doing must be intelligence-driven," he said.
"When it comes to operations, we don't have feelings - we must have information that we must use so that we can be able to quell the situation."
President Cyril Ramaphosa gave the green light for the SANF to be deployed on Monday, saying: “There is no grievance, nor any political cause, that can justify the violence and destruction that we have seen in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.”
