Key Points
- South Sudan blocked social media after riots over killings in Sudan.
- Platforms like Facebook and TikTok are inaccessible for 30-90 days.
- Videos of El Gezira killings triggered looting, vandalism, and violence.
South Sudanese authorities have restricted access to social media sites for at least 30 days after recordings showing the killings of South Sudanese nationals in Sudan’s El Gezira state provoked protests and deadly revenge attacks.
Social media access suspended for at least 30 days
The block was ordered to take effect at midnight Wednesday, according to a letter from Napoleon Adok, director general of the National Communications Authority, addressed to internet service providers. “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.
Customers of mobile operators MTN South Sudan and Zain will not be able to access platforms like Facebook and TikTok for a maximum of 90 days, the firms stated in statements made Wednesday.
Videos of killings in Sudan spark deadly riots in South Sudan
As stated by Reuters, at least 16 Sudanese nationals were slain last week when riots broke out in Juba and other towns of South Sudan. Youths in various cities ransacked and destroyed shops owned by Sudanese nationals and set fire to several residences, authorities said. The violence was reportedly in retribution for alleged involvement by Sudan’s military and affiliated parties in the killings in El Gezira.
The Sudanese army has criticized the events in El Gezira, describing them as “individual violations.”
