South Sudan’s police on Friday imposed a nationwide curfew from 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) following a night of deadly rioting in the capital over the alleged killing by the army and allied groups in neighbouring Sudan.

Police chief, Abraham Peter Manyuat, in a broadcast on state television, said the curfew would continue until further notice from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am daily with the aim to restore security and prevent the destruction of property, adding that the police will not tolerate any violations.

In a statement, the police said at least three people had been killed and seven wounded on Thursday night in South Sudan’s capital Juba, some by bullets and machetes, when youths in several suburbs looted and vandalised shops of Sudanese people.

The police further said that In Aweil, near the border with Sudan, three houses belonging to Sudanese people were burned.

It was gathered that on Friday, shops in many Juba suburbs were closed as police and other security forces tried to relocate Sudanese people to safer areas due to fears they could be attacked by rioters.

The riots were said to have followed the alleged killing of South Sudanese people by members of Sudan’s military and allied groups in the city of Wad Madani in Sudan’s El Gezira region.

The Sudanese army on Tuesday condemned what it described as individual violations in El Gezira after human rights groups blamed it and its allies for ethnically-targeted attacks against civilians accused of supporting the rebel Rapid Support Forces, RSF.

Meanwhile, South Sudan’s foreign ministry has summoned Sudan’s ambassador over the alleged killings earlier this week, and 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,” Mayardit office said in a statement.

South Sudan: Police impose curfew over riots