South Africa calls up army reserves to halt unrest

Looting and violence engulfing South Africa for days ebb ahead of an expected surge in soldiers on the streets.

South Africa mustered its army reserves in a bid to quell several days of looting that has ravaged supplies of food and other essentials and dealt a crippling blow to its economy. The disorder slowly began to ebb across most affected provinces on Thursday before an expected surge in soldiers on the streets. “All reserve members are to report for duty at first light tomorrow morning 15 July 2021 at their respective units,” army chief Lieutenant-General Lawrence Mbatha said in orders issued overnight as the unrest entered its sixth day.