Troops deployed in Johannesburg to tackle organised crime

Soldiers were deployed on the streets of South Africa’s biggest city on Wednesday after the president announced plans to use the army in several provinces in Africa’s leading economy to help police fight gang violence and illegal mining.

Soldiers were seen in the Johannesburg suburb of Riverlea in 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.

An Associated Press reporter saw a convoy of more than a dozen military vehicles move through the Riverlea suburb, with soldiers jumping out the vehicles to enter some apartment blocks. Riverlea is one area of Johannesburg affected by both gang-related violence and illegal mining.

South Africa’s police and the Department of Defense, which oversees the military, did not immediately provide details on the deployment.

The authorities