South Sudan President Salva Kiir has appealed for calm and urged citizens not to take the law into their own hands after a series of attacks on businesses and homes owned by people from neighboring Sudan.
Three people were killed and seven wounded in violent clashes with security officials in the capital Juba and the northwestern city of Aweil, police said. Their nationalities are not disclosed.
Three houses belonging to Sudanese nationals were set on fire in Aweil, according to officials.
A dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed on Friday to try to contain the tension.
No one will be allowed on the street between 18:00 and 06:00 local time (16:00 and 04:00 GMT) to “prevent any violation of public and private property,” Inspector General Abraham Manywat Peter said.
A second police source told the BBC that officers had rescued 45 Sudanese traders in Juba, who were now receiving protection at a police station.
South Sudan broke away from Sudan to form an independent state in 2011. after a long civil war, but recently an increasing number of Sudanese people are fleeing to South Sudan to escape the latest 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 the population – an estimated 25 million people – are in dire need of food and aid, the UN says.
Recent footage showing suspected Sudanese soldiers killing South Sudanese civilians appears to show the town of Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira state in central Sudan, over the past few days.
Human rights groups have confirmed that at least 13 – including some children – were killed there because of their ethnicity. The Army has ordered an investigation into the reports.
Darker-skinned people say racism is endemic in Sudan, and the targeted attacks on these communities by lighter-skinned Arab fighters happening today in places like Gezira and Darfur have a long precedent.
Slave raids are widely reported to have continued until the end of the civil war in 2005leading to the separation of predominantly black African South Sudan from Arabic-speaking Sudan six years later.
The events shown in the viral videos were condemned by the people of South Sudan at home and abroad in the diaspora.
Angered by what they saw in the videos and wanting revenge, hundreds of young men 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 witnessed dozens of young men – mainly in their 20s – fleeing as they were chased by police along Tambura Road, one of the busiest streets in Juba's Atlabara suburbs.
On Friday, shops and businesses in Juba, including the country's largest market, Konyo Konyo, remain closed. Restaurants and cafes are also locked as owners take precautions.
Bread prices jumped by as much as 17% in Juba on Friday in the few local bakeries that opened.
Police continue to pursue young men who move from one neighborhood to another, targeting Sudanese residents. Dozens of police have been deployed to protect the Sudanese people and their businesses in the suburbs of Atalabara C and others, the BBC understands.
We saw a police car drive around and take away a group of young men.
Witnesses in Wau, the country's second-largest city, told the BBC by phone on Friday that hundreds of angry youths attacked Souk Jau, a popular market that has many Sudanese-owned businesses.
They also tried to loot a number of shops but the police fired live rounds into the air to disperse them.
Elsewhere, spontaneous demonstrations reportedly broke out in the town of Tonj in Warrap, President Salva Kiir's home state on Friday.
The BBC could not independently verify claims of attacks and looting taking place in areas outside Juba.