Cape Town - After desperate calls for military intervention in the Cape Flats, soldiers were deployed in Manenberg early Thursday morning to crack down on rampant gang violence in the area as part of Operation Fiela.
A team of about 350 police officers and soldiers descended on Manenberg at 3.30am, waking residents with sharp knocks on their doors.
The army was brought in to help police officers as they searched homes for illegal weapons and drugs, said Western Cape head of detectives Major-General Jeremy Vearey.
He said three firearms had been confiscated and four people arrested by 9am, explaining that this was just the beginning, with further operations planned against gangsters in the area.
Most residents, who told the Cape Argus they feel like they are living in a “war zone”, celebrated when they saw soldiers swarm into the neighbourhood.
Story by Kieran Legg; Pictures by Henk Kruger
Cape Argus