Soldiers moved into gang-violence hotspots in Johannesburg Wednesday to support police efforts to tackle rampant crime, described by President Cyril Ramaphosa as one of the biggest threats facing South Africa.
Around a dozen armoured vehicles rolled into suburbs in western Johannesburg, South Africa's economic powerhouse, to kick off a deployment announced by Ramaphosa a month ago.
Armed and uniformed soldiers backed by police conducted house-to-house searches, lifting mattresses and opening cupboards as they asked about drugs and weapons, AFP reporters saw.
The areas — including Riverlea and Westbury — are plagued by regular shootings and murders linked to turf wars between gangs.
"It's a good thing! Now we can sleep in peace," smiled Cecil Witbooi, a 50-year-old resident of Westbury.
His street — lined with small, run-down houses — was a regular battleground between rival gangs, he said.
"Is this the real deal?" an elderly man shouted at a passing army convoy in Riverlea. A woman was murdered in a nearby apartment block this week, he said.
Dozens of residents gathered outside a block of crumbling apartment buildings to watch as the convoy pulled in and uniformed soldiers stepped out, some with their faces covered.
Children ran around excitedly and even posed for photos inside armoured vehicles.
Standing near a wall covered in graffiti of gang insignia, mother-of-three Shai-Anne Fisher, 31, said she hoped the deployment would "bring change".
"There's lots of crime, shootings... Children are getting massacred," she said. "This is uplifting us."
But others were doubtful. "It's nice they're here, but they're not going to do anything," shrugged 42-year-old Eugene, who only gave his first name for fear of reprisals.
"Once the criminals get caught, the judges let them out again," he said.
A young woman showed a scar on her leg, where she was hit by a bullet two months earlier.
Another resident, who asked for anonymity, said South Africa needed more than an army deployment.
"If they can give people jobs, it will help," she said, estimating that 90% of the block's residents were unemployed.
The national joblessness rate hovers near 32%, according to government figures.
With children as young as 12 recruited into gangs, stricter laws are needed to keep perpetrators in prison, she said, claiming some police officers were in cahoots with criminals.
South Africa's high crime rate includes on average 60 murders a day, many linked to turf battles between gangs involved in drugs and illegal mining.
"Organised crime is now the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development," Ramaphosa said in a state of the nation address last month.
The military deployment will last a year and cover five of the nine provinces, including the Western Cape, home to tourist hub Cape Town, according to a plan presented to parliament.
The measure has drawn criticism from experts and opposition politicians who say troops lack policing skills.
