South African President, Army Vow To Crush 'Anarchy And Mayhem'

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on late last week that the mob violence which has closed major highways, destroyed businesses and left over 200 people dead, was coordinated, Ralf Krueger reported for Deutsche Presse Agentur (dpa).

Arriving under military escort in the city of Durban, which has been rocked by violent protest for days, Ramaphosa condemned the violence as an attack on democracy. "It's quite clear that all these incidents of unrest and looting were instigated; there were people who planned it, who coordinated it," he said.

Ramaphosa added that some people had been identified and were now being sought by police. "We will not allow anarchy and mayhem to just unfold in our country. Yes, we could have done better, but we were overwhelmed by a situation," he said, apparently referring to the police response.

According to government figures, 212 people have died in the violent protests, while many more have been injured. The violence began with protests against the imprisonment of ex-president Jacob Zuma, who comes from KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Ramaphosa said that the majority of deaths - about 180 - were in KZN.

Despite further isolated attacks, especially in KZN province, the situation has now largely been brought under control by the military and main transport routes have been reopened, Khumbuzo Ntshaveni, a minister in the Office of the President, said on Friday.

WEEKLY FEATURE : PAL READY TO SOAR WITH PANDEMIC