S Africa calls up army reserves in bid to crush looting, unrest

South Africa yesterday mustered its army reserves in a bid to quell looting that has stoked fears of shortages and dealt a crippling blow to its already battered economy. 

"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.

Soldiers should "report ready with their necessary equipment," the defence ministry said in a statement.

On Wednesday, the government said it would call out around 25,000 troops to tackle the emergency -- 10 times the number that it initially deployed.

As relative calm returned to Johannesburg, Police Minister Bheki Cele hailed the boost from the military, saying he was confident it would "turn around the volatile situation in parts of KwaZulu-Natal" province, the epicentre of the unrest.

Stores and warehouses in the two provinces have been ransacked, devastating supply chains on which food, fuel and medicines depend in Africa's most industrialised economy.

According to official figures, 72 people have died and more than 1,200 people have been arrested, while South Africa's consumer goods regulatory body estimates that more than 800 shops have been plundered.

The unrest began a day after former president Jacob Zuma -- who commands support from some of the country's poor -- began a 15-month jail term on July 8 for refusing to testify to a commission probing corruption under his tenure.