JOHANNESBURG — At least 30 people have died in the violence across South African sparked by the imprisonment of former leader Jacob Zuma.

Almost 800 people have been arrested in the unrest which began as protests following Zuma's jailing on Thursday.

But protests turned violent over the weekend, with fires set, highways blocked and businesses looted.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has deployed the country's military to restore calm after days of violent protests and looting.

Ramaphosa addressed the nation Monday evening, calling for calm after at least six people died in the violence and hundreds were arrested.

As Zuma's lawyers argued for a sentence reduction Monday, protests and looting centered in two provinces escalated.

"We will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those who perpetrate these actions and ensure they face the full might of the law," Ramaphosa said in a national address, as local media played live pictures of malls being looted in Durban.

"It is this rule of law that enables our society to function and our economy to develop in the interests of the people of South Africa."

Ramaphosa acknowledged the protests and looting may have begun with political grievances, but those criminal elements had taken over.

"What we are witnessing now are opportunistic acts of criminality," he said.

Ramaphosa also warned that continued protests and looting could further undermine the nation's COVID-19 response and vaccination rollout. Several vaccine sites had to pause administering Covid shots because of the violence, he said. — Agencies