South Africa deploys 510 soldiers amid violence over asylum ruling

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorized the deployment of 510 soldiers to KwaZulu-Natal province to address recent violence in Durban. The deployment, part of a joint police-military operation known as Operation Prosper, aims to support police efforts and comes ahead of the country’s Nov. 4 local government elections.

The intervention, scheduled to run through the end of November, is an expansion of an existing operation combating gang violence and illegal mining. The presidency stated that the military deployment followed "recent violent actions arising from a campaign of misinformation" concerning a Constitutional Court ruling that removed procedural barriers for individuals seeking asylum in South Africa.

The protests in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces on Oct. 8 opposed the court’s decision and occurred amidst months of heightened anti-immigrant sentiment. Demonstrators have been calling for the deportation of undocumented foreigners living in South Africa.

Durban, a city that has become a focal point for anti-immigrant tensions this year, saw shops owned by foreign nationals looted. Riot police were deployed to the city center as these events unfolded, according to state broadcaster SABC. The presidency noted that the military deployment began the day after these clashes.

Separately, police in Durban reported that a foreign national was beaten to death by a group of approximately 50 people during a march in the city center last week. The estimated cost of the 510-soldier deployment is about 34 million rand, approximately $2 million.

Deployments of the military to assist the police are not unprecedented in South Africa. Soldiers were previously sent to combat gang violence in 2019 and illegal mining in 2023. In March of the current year, soldiers were deployed to help police combat gang violence and illegal mining, with major operations commencing on March 11 in Johannesburg’s Riverlea and Westbury neighborhoods. That broader deployment, also under Operation Prosper, was authorized to continue until March 31, 2027, across five provinces: Gauteng, the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, and North West.