CAPE TOWN, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Thirty-six people were killed in gang-related violence in Cape Town, South Africa, over one week, a senior lawmaker has said.

"For the week of March 30 to April 5, 2026, gang related violence in and around the Cape Town metro left 36 people dead and saw 47 cases of attempted murder," Chairperson of the National Assembly's Portfolio Committee on Police Ian Cameron said in a post on X on Tuesday.

Cameron said he had been in Mitchells Plain -- a large residential suburb in Cape Town about 28 km from the city center -- earlier Tuesday, where "four people were shot dead and five others were injured," referring to multiple shooting incidents that occurred in the area on Tuesday afternoon.

According to a statement issued late Tuesday by the South African Police Service, in a shooting at about 2:35 p.m., gunmen opened fire on a group of people at a taxi rank in Mitchells Plain, killing two men aged 20 and 22 at the scene.

"Two adult males and three children, including a six-year-old girl and two boys aged 12 and 13, were injured and taken to hospital for treatment," it said.

In his post, Cameron said, "These children should have been enjoying a carefree school holiday. Instead, they are lying in hospital because gang violence continues to tear through these communities."

This came after South Africa deployed troops to Cape Town and other high-crime areas as part of a broader effort to combat rising crime, a move first announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his annual State of the Nation Address in February.

About 2,200 soldiers from the South African National Defense Force have been dispatched to the Western Cape and four other provinces to support police operations under Operation Prosper, which is set to run until March 2027. ■