South Sudan Issues 30-Day Social Media Ban over violence in neighboring Sudan
The government of South Sudan recently issued a social media ban of up to 30 days, following the release of videos showing the purported murders of South Sudanese citizens in the state of El Gezira Sudan.
These videos are said to have been responsible for the rioting and violent retaliatory assaults, around the area.
Last week’s rioting in the country’s capital, Juba, and a few other places led to the murder of roughly 16 Sudanese people.
According to authorities, youths in several cities set fire to various homes.
They looted and damaged stores owned by Sudanese citizens in revenge for what they perceived to be the participation of Sudan’s military and affiliated organizations in the murders in El Gezira.
As a result, on Wednesday, Napoleon Adok, the country’s director general of the National Communications Authority, via a letter to internet service providers, instructed that they implement the ban on Wednesday.
“This is culminating from the recent upheaval in Sudan, that has exposed the South Sudanese population to unprecedented levels of extreme violence through social media posts,” Adok wrote in the letter seen by Reuters.
The ban, which could be extended for up to 90 days, is set to take effect at midnight on Thursday.
The National Communication Authority (NCA) officials emphasised in a directive that the measure was necessary to protect the public.
The NCA stated, "We may lift this directive as soon as we contain the situation."
As per the directive, clients of mobile providers MTN South Sudan and Zain will be unable to access Facebook, TikTok, and a few other social media services for up to 90 days, according to announcements released on Wednesday.
The Sudanese army called the unrest in El Gezira “individual violations.”
“The effect is a bit huge because as an artist, I depend so much on social media,” said Isaac Anthony Lumori, also known as Mc Lumoex, a popular South Sudanese musician and founder of a comedy show.
“My message to the government is to seek an amicable way of solving this issue, especially engaging the government of Sudan to make sure that (their) army does not misbehave to the extent of taking human life,” he told Reuters
In response to retaliatory violence, including looting of shops owned by Sudanese traders, South Sudanese authorities imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on January 17.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, condemned "the brutal killings of South Sudanese nationals" in Sudan and called for restraint.
Sudan has been mired in civil war since April 2023, when fighting erupted between rival military factions in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions.
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