KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli has asked for the army to be sent into Durban, saying Thursday and today’s violence left the situation out of control and police need more resources.

Ntuli said that the request for a South African National Defence Force deployment had already been submitted and that he was waiting for a response.

He spoke during a CBD walkabout with acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who were assessing the damage.

Police say 14 vehicles were torched in the city centre after anti-immigration protests turned violent. At least two buildings suffered minor fire damage, and one man sustained a broken leg after he was allegedly assaulted by a foreign national. Three foreign nationals were arrested in connection with the assault.

The protests are fuelled by anger over a July Constitutional Court ruling, and a Home Affairs directive that followed it, allowing asylum seekers to lodge applications even if they entered the country illegally.

Today, Friday, the Department of Home Affairs withdrew a directive issued on 28 September to implement the judgment, citing overwhelmed refugee reception offices, risks to officials and concerns about public safety and order. The department said it would develop a new operational approach to comply with the court ruling.

Ntuli said the reaction should have been anticipated and called for an investigation into reports of asylum seekers possessing firearms.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has already authorised SANDF deployments under Operation Prosper in parts of Gauteng, the North West, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape. KwaZulu-Natal is not covered by that authorisation.

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