She reiterated there was no insurrection, only a “counter-revolution” designed “to sow seeds of division in the country”.
Also at the briefing, the SANDF's deployment figures were clarified by Maj-Gen Siphiwe Sangweni, who gave an overview of the deployment of "Operation Prosper". He said SANDF Force Structure Elements had been deployed in all provinces, with KZN and Gauteng being the priority areas.
He said the situation on the ground was “dynamic” and had escalated quickly throughout the week. Key infrastructure has to be protected, he said.
The initial plan was to deploy 2,500 personnel, which was increased to 10,000 and by Sunday night was at over 21,500 due to escalating insecurity on the ground. Of these, almost 7,000 soldiers were in Gauteng and almost 5,000 in KZN.
The latest number authorised was now 25,000 for a period “not exceeding one month”, at a cost of R616m.
He said units on standby in other provinces had not experienced any protest action and national key points were all protected. These included airports, harbours, refineries, Eskom power generation plants.
The Operation Prosper code of conduct had been gazetted last week, Sangweni said.
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