The President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, has called for calm and appealed to citizens not to take the law into their own hands, following incidents of attacks on businesses and homes of people from neighboring countries Sudan.
Three people were killed and seven were injured when they clashed with police in the capital, Juba, and the northwestern town of Aweil, police said. Their nationalities have not been disclosed.
Three Sudanese houses were burned in Aweil, according to the police.
On Friday, a curfew was announced from dusk to dawn in an attempt to control tensions.
No one will be allowed to leave the street between 18:00 and 06:00 local time [16:00 and 04:00 GMT] to “prevent any violation of public and private property,” said Insp General Abraham Manyuat Peter.
A second police source told the BBC that the police rescued 45 Sudanese traders in Juba who are now receiving protection at a police station.
South Sudan broke away from Sudan and formed an independent state in 2011 after a long civil war, but recently, a growing number of Sudanese are fleeing South Sudan to escape the latest war.
Sudan has become the world’s worst disaster since the country’s generals began fighting in April 2023. Half the population – about 25 million people – are in dire need of food and aid, the UN said.
The latest footage showing suspected Sudanese soldiers killing South Sudanese civilians appears to be showing the town of Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira State in central Sudan a few days ago.
President Salva Kiir of South Sudan said what happened in Wad Madani was a heinous crime and “unacceptable”. He called on the government of Sudan to protect the citizens of South Sudan trapped there, and to investigate the killings with the help of international humanitarian organizations.
Rights groups have confirmed that at least 13 – including some children – were killed there because of their nationality. The Sudanese military says it has ordered an investigation into the reports.
Black people say racism is rampant in Sudan, and the attacks against these communities by light-skinned Arabs that are happening today in places like Gezira and Darfur have a long history.
Slave raids reportedly continued until a civil war ended in 2005, which led to South Africa’s South Sudan secession from Arabic-speaking Sudan six years later.
The events shown in the videos circulated by people have been criticized by the people of South Sudan in this country and abroad.
Angered by what they saw in the videos and seeking revenge, hundreds of young men attacked Sudanese businesses in Juba and other parts of South Sudan on Thursday.
Gunshots were heard throughout the night while the security forces were on alert.
The BBC saw dozens of young men – mostly in their 20s – running as they were being chased by police on Tambura road, one of Juba’s busiest roads in Atlabara.
On Friday, shops and businesses in Juba, including the country’s largest market, Konyo Konyo, are still closed. Bars and restaurants are also closed as owners take precautionary measures.
Bread prices rose by up to 17% in Juba on Friday with few local bakeries open.
The police continue to chase young men from one neighborhood to the next, looking for Sudanese citizens. A large number of police have been deployed to protect Sudanese people and their businesses in the suburbs of Atalabara C and elsewhere, the BBC understands.
We saw a police car gathering and taking a group of young men.
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 businesses.
They also tried to rob a number of shops, but the police fired a number of bullets into the air to disperse them.
Elsewhere, spontaneous protests are reported to have broken out in the town of Tonj in Warrap, which is President Salva Kiir’s stronghold on Friday.
The BBC could not independently verify claims of attacks and looting that took place outside Juba.
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