South Sudan curfew after revenge attacks on Sudanese people and businesses

No one will be allowed on the streets between 18:00 and 06:00 local time (16:00 and 04:00) to “prevent any violation of public and private property,” General Abraham Manyuat Peter.

A second police source told the BBC that officers rescued 45 Sudanese traders who were being held at a police station in Juba.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan to create an independent country in 2011 after a long civil war, but recently a growing number of Sudanese have been fleeing the latest conflict.

Sudan has become the world’s worst humanitarian crisis since the country’s warring generals first attacked each other in April 2023. Half the population – some 25 million people – are in dire need of food and aid, the UN says.

Recent footage shows Sudanese soldiers killing South Sudanese civilians in Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira state in central Sudan, over the past few days.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir said what happened in Wad Madani was a heinous and “unacceptable” crime. He called on the Sudanese government to protect South Sudanese citizens trapped there and investigate the killings with the help of international humanitarian organizations.

Rights groups have confirmed that at least 13 people, including some children, were killed there because of their ethnicity. The Sudanese army said it had ordered an investigation into the reports.

Black people say racism is endemic in Sudan, and the targeted attacks on these communities by lighter-skinned Arab fighters today in places like Gezira and Darfur have a long precedent.

Slave raids are widely reported to have continued until the end of the civil war in 2005.this led to the secession of predominantly black African South Sudan from Arabic-speaking Sudan six years later.

The events shown in the viral videos have been condemned by South Sudanese in the diaspora at home and abroad.

Enraged by what they saw in the clips and seeking revenge, hundreds of youths attacked Sudanese-owned businesses in Juba and other parts of South Sudan on Thursday.

During the night, gunshots were heard while the security forces were patrolling.

The BBC witnessed dozens of young men – mostly in their 20s – fleeing as police chased them down Tambura Road, one of the busiest streets in Juba’s Atlabara suburb.

Shops and businesses in Juba, including the country’s largest market on Friday, Konyo Konyo, stay connected. Restaurants and cafeterias were also closed as the owners took precautionary measures.

Bread prices rose by up to 17% in several local bakeries that opened in Juba on Friday.

The police continue to pursue young people who move from one neighborhood to another, targeting Sudanese residents. Dozens of police have been deployed to protect Sudanese people and their businesses in Atalabara C suburbs and others, the BBC understands.

We saw a police car picking up a group of young people and taking them away.

Witnesses in Wau, the country’s second-largest city, told the BBC by telephone on Friday that hundreds of angry youths had stormed Souk Jaw, a popular market with many Sudanese-owned businesses.

They also attempted to loot a number of shops but the police fired live bullets in the air to disperse them.

On Friday, spontaneous demonstrations were reported in Tonj, Warrap, home of President Salva Kiir.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify claims of attacks and looting in areas outside Juba.