South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing calls to order a national inquiry into a police operation that was meant to combat illegal mining but ended up leaving 87 miners to die underground as authorities attempted to force them to surrender during a monthslong standoff.

An operation to rescue illegal gold miners stranded in deep underground shafts in South Africa’s North West province got under way on Monday, ending a months-long stand-off over their fate. Civil rights groups say at least 100 people have died from starvation since October when the authorities sealed off shafts at the Buffelsfontein gold mine in Stilfontein about 156km southwest of Johannesburg,