"Whether it's day or whether it's night, they're shooting somewhere on the Cape Flats. Around him, residents made their way to a home-grown tuck shop, known as a spaza, or sat on street corners while toddlers ran about. How is this conducive to raising children? he asked, recounting the horrors of life in Mitchells Plain."
"Two ominous letters are spray-painted on a wall at the entrance to Tafelsig, a township in Mitchells Plain on the outskirts of Cape Town: HL the insignia of the Hard Livings gang, which has threatened communities there for five decades."
"Mitchells Plain is on the Cape Flats a series of densely populated, impoverished townships about 30km (19 miles) southeast of the wealthy city centre where the president made his speech. While the city boasts hordes of tourists and some of the most expensive real estate on the continent, the Cape Flats accounts for the highest rate of gang-related killings in the country."
South Africa faces severe gang violence, particularly in the Cape Flats townships near Cape Town, where gang-related killings represent the country's highest rate. The Hard Livings gang and other criminal organizations have terrorized communities for decades, with shootings occurring daily at the worst periods. President Ramaphosa announced a military deployment to tackle this crisis across three provinces. However, residents and critics express skepticism about the military intervention's effectiveness. The Cape Flats, despite Cape Town's wealth and tourism, remains densely populated and impoverished, with inadequate conditions for families. Recent violence includes multiple killings, including a nine-month-old child, highlighting the urgent humanitarian crisis.
#south-african-gang-violence #military-intervention #cape-flats-townships #crime-and-security-policy #urban-poverty-and-inequality
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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