The police unit will consist of 16 detectives and comes as 11 men are due to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court in connection with the rape and kidnapping of a 22-year-old woman.

The Star reported that the incident involving the pregnant woman occurred early on Monday in downtown Johannesburg‚ while she and a colleague were on the way home from work at a nightclub.

“We were walking on Bree Street when one guy grabbed her‚” a male colleague told The Star. “I told him to stop what he was doing and we ended up in a fight.

“From there‚ all I saw were a bunch of armed men surrounding me. They started hitting me‚ until I ran to get help from a woman who sells newspapers around the corner.”

Some of the men assaulted the colleague‚ while others stripped the woman and dragged her into a rundown block of flats.

“When the police arrived‚ we heard screaming from the building‚ which has no electricity. When we found her‚ there were men standing in a queue waiting to have sex with her.”

President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday spoke out against the killings.

“The nation must forge a united front with the law enforcement authorities‚ government and all sectors of society in fighting this appalling scourge and isolate these criminals in society but within the ambit of the law‚” he said in a statement‚ also urging the public to join the fight against human trafficking.