South African police and army units marched in a parade featuring helicopters, police dog teams and officers on motorcycles. Thus, authorities showed force ahead of expected protests around the G20 summit of world leaders later this week in Johannesburg, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
South Africa has deployed 3,500 additional police officers and put the army on alert, and all these forces will be under the umbrella of the National Joint Operations and Intelligence Structure - a body that unites the police, army and intelligence services under a single command in providing security for major events.
Deputy National Commissioner for Police Affairs, Lieutenant General Tebelo Mosikili told reporters that authorities expected protests in Johannesburg and other major South African cities. "We will allow that right (to protest) to be exercised, but within the limits of the law," she added.
South African police said they had set up special gathering areas for protesters near the summit venue - an exhibition centre next to the country's largest football stadium.
The head of Airports Company South Africa, which runs the main international airports, said "speakers' corners" had been set up at airports where protesters would be "kindly" greeted by security if they stage demonstrations when world leaders arrive.
The two-day summit begins on Saturday and is expected to attract leaders and top diplomats from more than 40 countries, as well as global institutions such as the United Nations, The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation.
Demonstrations by anti-capitalists, environmentalists, women's rights activists, anti-immigration groups and others are expected, with some raising questions about poverty and inequality in South Africa.
A union representing Afrikaners (the country's white minority) has sparked controversy by putting up billboards in Johannesburg reading: "Welcome to the most racially regulated country in the world". One of the billboards was taken down by city authorities, prompting the Solidarity union to threaten legal action.
The billboards are linked to so-called positive discrimination laws that expand opportunities for black people and have become part of a diplomatic dispute between South Africa and the US.
US President Donald Trump will not attend the G20 summit in a sign of boycott over his claims that the black-led South African government is pursuing racist policies against whites and persecuting them.
Many dismiss the claims as baseless, but the US government's boycott could undermine the credibility of the first G20 summit in Africa. Other groups hope to use the opportunity to draw attention to issues such as the high level of violence against women and female homicides in the country.