South Africa to deploy troops to tackle crime gangs

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will deploy the army to help the police fight criminal gangs and illegal mining in the country.

Gang violence is a major problem in South Africa, which has one of the world's highest murder rates.

"Organised crime is now the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development," Ramaphosa said in his annual State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday.

"I will be deploying the South African National Defence Force to support the police," he added.

In his address to parliament, Ramaphosa said he had directed the chiefs of the police and army to draw up a plan on where "our security forces should be deployed within the next few days".

Ramaphosa ruled out deploying troops to Cape Town just two weeks ago, saying soldiers were trained for combat and not community policing. He did not explain why he changed his mind but there have been increasing calls for him to take action to tackle gang violence.

South Africa, the continent's most industrialised nation, has long struggled with entrenched organised crime.