SA National Defence Force (SANDF) troops deployed on the Cape Flats arrived in Dunoon in Cape Town on Tuesday to carry out "targeted operations" against crime in the area - where disgruntled taxi operators have been leading violent protests for days.

Police said the deployment of the military was directed at crime, not the protests.

Protests in the area, and the nearby Joe Slovo area, have simmered for days with cars being stoned, roads barricaded, bus stations targeted and at least one bus and a truck set on fire.

The protest is the result of a standoff between some taxi bosses and the city council, which refuses to budge on demands for allocated transport routes and the scrapping of fines.

Police confirmed that the SANDF would be moving to Dunoon on Tuesday, but insisted that their presence in the area was to prioritise "generators of crime" and was not specifically directed at the protesters.