The government launches ‘Operation Iron Fist’ in townships

At the height of township violence in Transvaal, President F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela held a series of meetings to discuss means of quelling the unrest. Following these deliberations the government announced 'Operation Iron Fist' to put down the fighting. These measures included a curfew; the cordoning off of hostels and squatter camps with razor wire; the use of aerial spray dyes; and, mounting light machine guns on armoured vehicles. Twenty-seven townships were placed under emergency rule. Though a call was made by a few Black groups to boycott the curfew, it proved effective when it returned uneasy calm to townships.A few days later, on 19 September, amid accusations that the security forces were contributing to the violence, De Klerk ordered the formation of "special investigative units" to examine allegations of police misconduct in the township violence.