South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to roll out 25,000 servicemen to curb the riots, stressing that the authorities won't allow anarchy to take over the country.
"It is quite clear that all these incidents of unrest and looting were instigated, there were people who planned it and coordinated it", he added, noting that the authorities had already identified 12 suspects.
Protests in South Africa erupted last week after ex-President Jacob Zuma handed himself in to the police to serve a 15-month jail term, following his refusal to appear at a corruption inquiry. The unrest originally ignited in the KwaZulu-Natal Province and then spread across the country, which resulted in mass arrests of looters and vandals.
South Africa's Police Minister Bheki Cele said earlier this week that 757 rioters had been arrested as of Tuesday, including 304 in KwaZulu-Natal and 453 in Gauteng.