JOHANNESBURG — Declaring that the nation is reeling from public violence “rarely seen before in the history of our democracy,” South Africa’s president on Monday deployed the military in an effort to quell the escalating civil unrest that has led to several deaths, tens of millions of dollars in damages to businesses and the disruption of the nation’s coronavirus vaccination program. Protests that began last week in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal over the imprisonment of Jacob Zuma, the former South African president, devolved into looting, arson and gunfire. The chaos spread to Johannesburg, the nation’s financial hub. Mr. Ramaphosa has faced criticism for his silence in the early days of the unrest. On Monday, he sought to take a firm stance against the violence, saying that looters and rioters would face the full weight of the law.

Source: New York Times July 12, 2021 17:46 UTC