After South Sudan’s retaliatory attacks on Sudanese people and businesses

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has appealed for calm and urged citizens not to take the law into their own hands following attacks on businesses and homes of residents in neighboring Sudan.

Three people were killed and seven wounded in clashes with security forces in the capital Juba and the northwestern town of Aweil, police said. Their nationalities have not been disclosed.

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

On Friday, a dusk-to-dawn shutdown was announced to try to control tensions.

No one will be allowed to go outside between 18:00 and 06:00 local time (16:00 to 04:00 GMT) to “avoid any violation of public and private property,” Insp Gen Abraham Manyuat Peter said.

A second police source told the BBC that officers rescued 45 Sudanese traders from Juba who are being protected in a police station.

South Sudan broke away from Sudan to form an independent country in 2011 after a long civil war, but recently, more and more Sudanese people have fled to South Sudan to escape the recent conflict.

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

Recent images of suspected Sudanese soldiers killing South Sudanese civilians show the city of Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira state in central Sudan in recent days.

As rights groups have confirmed, at least 13 – including some children – were killed there because of their ethnicity. The Army has ordered an investigation into the reports.

Dark-skinned people say racism is endemic in Sudan, and targeted attacks against lighter-skinned Arab fighters in places like Gezira and Darfur today have a long history.

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

The events depicted in the viral videos have been condemned by the people of South Sudan in the country and abroad in the diaspora.

Angered 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.

Gunshots were heard throughout the night as security forces patrolled.

The BBC saw dozens of young people – mostly in their 20s – running from police along Tambura Road, which is one of the busiest streets in Juba’s Atlabara district.

On Friday, shops and businesses in Juba, including the country’s largest market, Konyo Konyo, stay closed. Restaurants and cafes have also been closed as the owners take precautionary measures.

Bread prices rose by 17% in the few local bakeries that opened in Juba on Friday.

Police continue to chase youths who move from neighborhood to neighborhood, targeting Sudanese residents. Dozens of police have been deployed to protect Sudanese people and their businesses in Atalabara C districts and elsewhere, the BBC understands.

We saw a police vehicle pass by and take a group of young people.

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

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

Elsewhere, spontaneous demonstrations reportedly broke out in the town of Tonj in Warrap, the hometown of President Salva Kiir, on Friday.

The BBC was unable to independently verify claims of attacks and looting in areas outside Juba.