The South African army mobilised on Thursday to support the country's embattled police force in a bid to quell a wave of violence against immigrants that has claimed 42 lives and displaced 16 000.
"Whenever the South African police require our support they will inform us through the command channels and we will deploy whenever they need us," spokesperson for the defence forces, General Kwena Mangope, said.
He said soldiers and helicopters were ready to help police control the unrest, which has seen mobs of armed youths purge poor areas around Johannesburg of foreigners.
Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and Nigerians have been targeted in the violence, which spread outside of the Johannesburg region for the first time on Tuesday to neighbouring provinces, raising fears of a national catastrophe.
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The situation appeared to be calming on Thursday in the hotspot of Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria, but incidents were reported for the first time in the North West.
Spokesperson for North West police, Brian Dlamini, said 49 people had been arrested on Wednesday night for looting and burning shops belonging to foreigners.
"They were party to a group that vandalised shops belonging to foreigners in the area," he said.
The death toll from the 10 days of violence, which began in a poor township area of Johannesburg before spreading to the inner city and outlying slums, nearly doubled on Tuesday to reach 42, according to new police figures.
An estimated 16 000 people have been displaced, with many taking shelter at police stations, community centres and temporary refugee camps set up by humanitarian groups.
Foreigners in South Africa, many of whom have fled economic meltdown in neighbouring Zimbabwe, are being blamed for sky-high rates of crime in South Africa as well as depriving locals of jobs.
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