President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the deployment of 510 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers to KwaZulu-Natal until November 30, following a wave of anti-immigration protests that left one person dead and saw shops looted and vehicles set alight in Durban.
The deployment, estimated to cost R34 million, will support police in maintaining law and order under Operation Prosper, an ongoing joint security operation.
In a letter to Parliament dated October 21, Ramaphosa said the soldiers would remain on standby to respond to any eventualities.
The decision follows renewed unrest in Durban earlier this month, after KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli requested military assistance.
During the initial violence, 14 vehicles were reportedly set alight, foreign-owned shops were looted and police used rubber bullets to disperse crowds.
Tensions escalated further on October 22 when a Ugandan national was beaten to death during a protest march in central Durban.
Police subsequently arrested five men, aged between 19 and 46, in connection with the murder and attempted murder of foreign nationals.
Authorities had also arrested 30 people nationwide by October 11 for offences including public violence, unlawful gathering and obstruction. Of these, 25 arrests were made in KwaZulu-Natal and five in Gauteng, where similar protests took place in Soweto.
Ramaphosa has linked the unrest to misinformation surrounding a Constitutional Court judgment on asylum applications, which was allegedly misrepresented as granting undocumented migrants sweeping legal protections.
Government officials have clarified that the ruling restored access to an asylum determination process for certain applicants. It does not automatically grant refugee status, permanent residence or blanket amnesty to undocumented migrants.
The government has since sought to address the misinformation while working to contain the unrest.
SANDF members have reportedly already been deployed in parts of Durban, with the presidential authorisation providing for their continued deployment until November 30.
Authorities have reiterated that immigration enforcement remains the responsibility of the state and warned that concerns about immigration do not justify vigilantism, looting, arson or attacks on people and property.