South Sudan curfew after revenge attacks on Sudanese people and businesses

Following a spate of attacks on Sudanese businesses and homes, the police chief in neighboring South Sudan has announced a nightly curfew in an effort to end the conflict.

Three people have been killed and seven injured in clashes with the police in the city of Juba and in the city of Aweil in the northwest. Their countries were not disclosed.

Three houses of Sudanese citizens were burned in Aweil, according to the police.

No one will be allowed on the streets 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 Gen Abraham Manyuat Peter on Friday.

A second police officer told the BBC that police rescued 45 Sudanese businessmen in Juba who are now receiving police protection.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan and created an independent state in 2011 after a long civil war, but recently, Sudanese people are fleeing to South Sudan to escape the latest conflict.

Sudan has been the world’s worst humanitarian crisis since the country’s military began fighting in April 2023. Half of the population – about 25 million people – are in need of food and aid, the UN says.

The latest footage showing the Sudanese army killing South Sudanese civilians appears to be showing the city of Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira state in central Sudan over the past few days.

Rights groups confirmed that at least 13 – including some children – were killed there because of their ethnicity.

Black people say racism is rampant in Sudan, and the light-skinned Arab insurgencies that are taking place today in places like Gezira and Darfur happened a long time ago.

The slave revolt was said to continue until the end of the civil war in 2005which resulted in the predominantly black South Sudan leaving the Arabic-speaking Sudan after six years.

The events depicted in the viral videos have been criticized by South Sudanese in the country and outside the diaspora.

Angered by what they saw in the videos and wanting revenge, hundreds of young men attacked Sudanese businesses in Juba and other parts of South Sudan on Thursday.

Gunshots rang out throughout the night as the soldiers watched.

The BBC saw many young people – mostly in their 20s – running as they were chased by police on Tambura road, one of the busiest roads in Juba’s Atlabara city.

Friday shops and businesses in Juba including the largest market in the country, Konyo Konyo, stay closed. Bars and restaurants have also been closed as owners take precautionary measures.

Bread prices rose by up to 17% in Juba on Friday as few bakeries opened.

The police continue to chase young men who are moving from one area to another, looking for Sudanese people. More police have been deployed to protect Sudanese people and their businesses in Atalabara C and others, the BBC understands.

We saw a police car driving around and picking up a group of boys.

Witnesses in Wau, the country’s second largest city, told the BBC by telephone on Friday that hundreds of angry youths had attacked the popular Souk Jaw market, which has many Sudanese businesses.

They also tried to loot several shops, but the police fired live bullets to disperse them.

Elsewhere, spontaneous demonstrations took place in the town of Tonj in Warrap, the home of President Salva Kiir on Friday.

The BBC has not been able to independently confirm reports of plots and kidnappings outside Juba.