Soldiers underwent "mission ready training" on Monday after arriving in Cape Town ahead of their deployment to the Cape Flats to help police crack down on unrelenting gang-related and violent crime.

On Monday, the SA National Defence Force tweeted that troops from the eight South African Infantry Battalion arrived, joining soldiers from across the country at the air force base in Ysterplaat.

Minister of Police Bheki Cele said on Sunday the army would be on the ground in about two days after completing their orientation.

Their job, he said, would not be to do the police's work but to support and accompany SA Police Service.

Go-ahead

In his budget speech on Thursday, the minister announced that President Cyril Ramaphosa had given the go-ahead for the defence force to offer support to the police and enter 10 identified areas of the Cape Flats - Bishop Lavis, Mitchells Plain, Delft, Elsies River, Nyanga, Khayelitsha, Mfuleni, Philippi, Kraaifontein and Manenberg.

Troops began arriving in Cape Town on Friday.

Their training includes a briefing on the areas in which the troops will be active, the objectives of the mission, expectations of troop conduct and preparation for engagement with the public.

Cele on Sunday said he had received numerous requests from community policing forums for the army to be deployed.

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