25,000 Troops Deployed to South Africa to Stop Riots; 117 Dead

25,000 South African troops were deployed on Thursday to help end weeklong riots sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma.

According to the Associated Press, authorities have confirmed at least 117 people have been killed in the violence.

Government officials said 10,000 soldiers were on the streets by Thursday morning alongside police doing patrols. The South African National Defence Force had also called up all of its reserve force which consists of 12,000 troops.

A convoy of more than a dozen armored personnel carriers brought the soldiers into Gauteng province, South Africa’s most populous area, which includes the largest city, Johannesburg and Pretoria, the capital.

Violence erupted last week after Zuma began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court after refusing to comply with a court order to testify at a state-backed inquiry investigating allegations of corruption during his presidency from 2009 to 2018.