In a statememt the  South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on Monday confirmed that it has started deploying soldiers to assist police in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal to deal with intensifying riots and looting.

The SANDF said they are responding to a request from the South African Police Service's National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure.

They it said the deployment would begin as soon as preparations were complete and its mandate was strictly to help keep police safe as they carried out their duties.

 SANDF`s deployment objective is to provide safety and a safe working environment for members of the SAPS and other law enforcement agencies whilst they carry out their constitutionally mandated law and order duties. SANDF deployment-related information updates will follow in due course," Said the SANDF