Cyril’s soldiers go marching in to tackle gang crime on Cape Flats

In most countries, calling the troops into suburbs will not be met with shouts of approval. But in Philippi and Hanover on the Cape Flats, where gang violence has turned the lives of so many people into misery, the local residents and community policing forums have asked the SANDF to intervene as it became clear that the police have lost control over such areas. The Daily Maverick reports that "mortuary statistics suggest that 900 people" have died in gang violence in the first six months of the year. Johan Burger from the Institute of Security Studies say it was clear that the police were not functioning properly in the area, but he cautioned that the troops should only be there to enable the police to do their work; they have not been trained to act as policemen. – Linda van  Tilburg

Johan Burger of the Institute for Security Studies says the situation on the Cape Flats has been a flash point for many years and gangs have acted as if they own the place; they became a law unto themselves. It had become evident that the Police increasingly lost the ability to deal with the gangsters. He said last weekend 13 people were killed in at least three or four incidents in Philippi and Phillipi East. The local community have increasingly called on the Government to send troops into the area to take over the functions of the police.

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