Vigilante groups form in South Africa amid looting and violence

Citizens warned not to take law into own hands to protect property, as government plans to deploy 25,000 more troops

Senior officials in South Africa have appealed to ordinary citizens not to take the law into their own hands as vigilante groups form following days of unchecked looting and violent protests across a swath of the country.

Thousands of soldiers have been deployed to help police on the streets, but law enforcement agencies still appear unable to stem ongoing attacks by crowds on warehouses, supermarkets, shopping malls, clinics and factories.