The civil unrest situation throughout Africa's southern tip continues to spiral out of control, prompting the South African Army Reserve to order "all Reserve members" on immediate duty.
A statement from the regiment explains that at the command of Lieutenant General Lawrence Khulekani, Chief of the South African Army, all Reserve members are called to duty at "first light" on the morning of July 21.
Though there is no specific count, it is estimated that the South African Army has around 12,300 reserve force personnel in its ranks, which suggests the situation has become exceptionally serious.
The Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa are reportedly being hit the hardest by social unrest due to the arrest and jailing of former South African President Jacob Zuma.
The country's economy is taking a major hit as rioters continue to burn down farms and blockade travel routes in and out of the Port of Durban, which has brought imports and exports to a grinding halt.
Grocery stores are also running dry as many are no longer receiving new food stocks, not to mention the looting and pillaging that is taking place at many of them.
Reports are suggesting that South Africa could be on the verge of becoming a failed state due to the violence, especially as police and military are nowhere to be found in trying to quell the violence.
"Social unrest raged in South Africa for nearly a week as food, fuel, and ammo shortages materialized," one report explains. "Farming, manufacturing, and oil refining have gone offline in certain regions as the worst unrest in decades continues."
South African police are joining the looters wreaking havoc throughout the country
In a statement, current President Cyril Ramaphosa promised to deploy the military to some of the hot zones since local police forces are said to be "overwhelmed" by all of the chaos.
In some areas, police are actually joining the looters by robbing businesses and destroying property in protest.
"President Ramaphosa welcomed proposals made by political leaders and said expanded deployment of the South African National Defence Force was being addressed," an official statement explains.
An unrest map created through the PolicyLab website shows that all of the unrest is currently taking place in eastern South Africa, with Cape Town not reporting any violence or crime beyond the ordinary.
At the same time, the localized areas where rioting, looting and violence is taking place are having a nationwide impact due to supply chains and transport networks being disrupted.
The Port of Durban, the fourth-largest container terminal in the Southern Hemisphere, is taking a huge hit due to the protests, as are warehouses throughout Durban.
The entire world will likely feel the impact of what is taking place as South Africa is also the world's second-largest exporter of fresh citrus behind Spain.
"Sadly, South Africa is on its knees," reported the Daily Maverick.
"Entire communities have been razed, but more significantly – at least for those trying to calculate what the future might hold – the violence has targeted vital nodes of distribution: logistics capacity in Mooi River; local food and dry good stores throughout eThekwini; large malls and warehouse facilities along the coastline and up into Pietermaritzburg."
Rioters are said to be specifically targeting vital infrastructure, their goal being to disrupt and destabilize it as much as possible. Video footage shows widespread destruction at shopping malls, grocery stories, convenience stores, warehouses and other facilities where goods are stored and sold.
More than 70 people have also been reported dead due to the unrest, which has been going on for about a week now.
More related news about the situation in South Africa can be found at Collapse.news.
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