The deployment of the South African National Defense Forces (SANDF) to support police in efforts to combat high gang violence and illegal mining activities in several provinces will soon commence.

South African Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola briefed a joint meeting of the Parliament’s Police Committee and the Committee on Petroleum and Mineral Resources on Wednesday.

According to Cachalia, the deployment is already being rolled out this month and set to last until March 31, 2027.

Areas that will be prioritised for deployment include tackling gang violence specifically on the Cape Flats in Western Cape, and Eastern Cape, as well as illicit mining activities in Gauteng, North West, and Free State.

The objectives of the operations were said to be crime reduction in the designated action areas, namely arrest of offenders, recovery of illicit firearms, ammunition, and explosives, and confiscation of “tools of trade” and illicit narcotics.

The briefing related to the deployment of the SANDF to several provinces where gang violence and illegal mining have organised into sophisticated criminal networks.

Cachalia said the development was in line with the directives of President Cyril Ramaphosa who made the announcement during his State of the Nation Address in February.