Riots WATCH: Where is SANDF as citizens protect suburbs?

Durban residents came out in their numbers to fight back against rioters in support of the police and security companies at the frontline of a devastated and burning city on Monday.

As dusk fell the rioting continued and began to intensify with the looting of Westwood Mall in Westville, Watercrest Mall in Waterfall and Queensmead Mall in Umbilo in full swing. Gunshots were fired in Glenwood as residents patrolled the neighbourhood in support of the police throughout the night. 

Residents in suburbs from Phoenix to Durban North, Waterfall, Kloof, Pinetown, New Germany, Queesburgh, Malvern, the Bluff and Umkomaas hit the streets in vehicles and on foot to patrol their neighbourhoods. By as late as 11pm there were no reports of any evidence of additional police or SANDF members deployed to hotspot areas to quell the riots and protect citizens.

Rioters had earlier looted Musgrave Centre on the Berea and Davenport Centre and Woolworths in Glenwood, while Value Centre in Springfield was among the many businesses and shopping centres that were targeted for looting and burning. Umkomaas CBD on the South Coast and Phoenix North of Durban were also hard hit by the violent looters.

Residents fought back in some areas saying that they were protecting their communities and their food supply. Videos of residents fighting back were shared widely on social media.

Watch a video of residents protecting a business are near Amanzimtoti:

Watch a video here of residents fighting back against the looters in Durban:

This video was posted of residents preparing to protect local businesses during the riots, including Northway Tops in Pietermaritzburg:

SA citizens in Durban were widely unimpressed and angry regarding President Cyril Ramaphosa’s apparent lack of decisiveness in his address to the nation earlier in the evening. Many had anticipated that he would declare a national state of emergency. However, he instead confirmed the deployment of the SANDF – only one vehicle has been photographed patrolling on the Durban beachfront with not one rioter in sight – and called for calm in the land, while Durban burns into the night.