A nationwide curfew was imposed by police in South Sudan from 6pm (1600 GMT) on January 17th after a night of deadly rioting in capital Juba over the alleged killing of South Sudanese people by the army and allied groups in neighbouring Sudan, report Reuters.
Police chief Abraham Peter Manyuat said in a broadcast on state television that the curfew would continue until further notice from 6pm to 6am daily to try to restore security and prevent the destruction of property. “The police will not tolerate any violations,” he added.
The police said in a statement that a minimum of three people had been killed and seven wounded on the night of January 16th in Juba, some by bullets and machetes, when youths in several suburbs looted and vandalised shops belonging to Sudanese people.
They added that in Aweil, near the border with Sudan, three houses belonging to Sudanese people had been burned.
Shops in many Juba suburbs were closed on January 17th as police and other security forces tried to relocate Sudanese people to safer areas due to fears they could come under attack by rioters.
The riots come after the the alleged killing of South Sudanese people by members of Sudan’s army and allied groups in the city of Wad Madani in the Sudanese state of El Gezira.
The Sudanese army condemned what it called “individual violations” in El Gezira on January 16th after groups blamed it and its allies for ethnically-targeted attacks on civilians accused of supporting the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.
South Sudan’s foreign ministry summoned the Sudanese ambassador over the alleged killings while president Salva Kiir Mayardit called for calm.
“It is crucial that we do not allow anger to cloud our judgment or turn against Sudanese traders and refugees currently residing in our country,” his office said in a statement.
