South Sudan declares nighttime curfew after looting in capital

Police in South Sudan declared a nighttime curfew on Friday, the morning after anti-Sudanese protests in the capital Juba degenerated into looting.

Protests broke out on Thursday following reports that 29 South Sudanese citizens had been killed in neighbouring Sudan earlier in the week.

Sudan’s army was accused of killing civilians after retaking the city of Wad Madani from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

It appears to mark the latest brutal episode of a civil war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 12 million since breaking out in April 2023.

AFP has not been able to independently verify that South Sudanese were among the dead.

But videos spreading online helped spark the protests in South Sudan on Thursday, with police forced to fire warning shots to stop pillaging of Sudanese shops as the unrest grew.

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Protests were in the capital Juba as well the towns of Bor, Aweil and Wau.

An AFP journalist saw many foreign-owned shops and restaurants in the Jebel and Munuki neighbourhoods of the capital had been looted and vandalised overnight.

He said calm had been restored on Friday, but the atmosphere was tense with a heavy police presence across the city.

“As a counter measure, we have ordered for a curfew starting at 6:00 pm,” police chief Abraham Manyuat announced on state television as fresh protests broke out in the capital and other towns.

“This morning protestors came out in a big number. They came specifically to Custom and Konyo markets (which) contain two-third of food commodities,” he said.

“If these markets get looted or catch fire it will be disastrous and both citizens and government will face severe consequences, so we are protecting those markets with all we can.”

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South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, gained independence from Sudan in 2011.

It faces chronic instability, violence and extreme poverty, lately exacerbated by some of the worst flooding in decades and a massive influx of refugees fleeing the war in Sudan.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir urged restraint late on Thursday.

“We must not allow anger to cloud our judgement, and individuals fleeing violence deserve protection,” Kiir’s office said in a statement late Thursday.

“I call on all of you to exercise restraint and allow the government of South Sudan and Sudan to address this matter,” he said.

– By: © Agence France-Presse