South African soldiers will deploy in Cape Town's crime-ridden townships after a surge of shootings, gang violence and murders in one of the country's top tourist destinations, the head of the defence forces said Friday.
They will bolster the city's struggling police force for three months, patrolling on foot and in vehicles through districts identified as criminal hotspots.
Soldiers have been used in similar missions in Cape Town before but violence has peaked in recent months in the sprawling townships of the Cape Flats area, one of the most violent places in South Africa.
General Solly Shoke, chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), said the military "will deploy a battalion with support elements during the operation."
Last year, over 20,000 people were murdered in South Africa -- 57 per day -- and Cele has described the country as "close to the war zone."
"The DA trusts that the deployment of the SANDF to various communities in the Western Cape will bring much-needed stability in the Western Cape."