Zuma:117 Dead As Unrest Persists In South Africa

At least 117 persons have died and 1700 arrested in the unrest that has continued to rock South Africa for the eighth day.

Protests erupted last week Friday when former South African President Jacob Zuma, 79, turned himself in to authorities to serve a 15-month jail term for contempt of court. He had refused to appear at an anti-corruption commission to face several allegations, including bribery and fraud, which he has repeatedly denied.

However, the unrest widened into grievances over inequality and poverty

Aljazeera reports that more than 20,000 troops have been deployed to assist police in quelling week-long unrest, as the death toll soared to 117 people in the rioting and looting following the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma, authorities said on Thursday.

In one of the largest deployments of soldiers since the end of white minority rule in 1994, the government said 10,000 soldiers were on the streets by Thursday morning and the South African National Defence Force has also called up all of its reserve force of 12,000 troops.

In a show of force, a convoy of more than a dozen armoured personnel carriers brought soldiers on Thursday into Gauteng province, South Africa’s most populous, which includes the largest city, Johannesburg, and the executive capital, Pretoria.

Buses, trucks, aeroplanes and helicopters were also being used to move the large deployment of troops to trouble spots in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal province that have seen a week of violence in mainly poor areas.