It seems Khartoum is now throwing out all South Sudanese nationals who have been living in Sudan.
So far, two South Sudanese chiefs living in the Shendi City of Sudan have confirmed that local authorities want them out of the area, signalling a rising form of xenophobia.
The Sudanese authorities have reportedly issued a three-day notice for all South Sudanese residents to evacuate the town and return back to their South Sudan.
The South Sudanese have been given an ultimatum to be out of Sudan, by Sunday, August 30, 2025.
It was only 15 years ago when Sudan and South Sudan were a single country, now one part is evicting people from the other.
The given notice has been confirmed by John Okori and Federico Emilio, the South Sudanese chiefs that together with their subjects are required to vacate the country as soon as possible.
According to Chief Okori, South Sudanese nationals in Sudan have been facing hostilities, including detention, segregation and growing xenophobia, since 2024 with the situation getting worse in 2025 and now they are required to leave.
Okori also recalled the documented arrests and torture of seven South Sudanese who happened to be Christians earlier this year by Sudanese Military Intelligence, which he says, were linked to some form religion-oriented persecution.
Speaking from Shendi, Chief Okori stated that authorities gave no clear reason for chucking them out, apart from insisting that all the South Sudanese in the country were ‘foreigners,’ and must leave immediately.
He said they tried to reason with officials, explaining that many had lived in Shendi for decades and had demands for pensions and children in local schools.
“We did nothing wrong against the Sudanese people or their government,” Okori said, adding that the timing was not appropriate due to the current rainy season.
On his part, Chief Federico Emilio pointed out that meetings with Sudanese authorities to reconsider the decision have failed, because the officials simply dismissed their concerns about the ongoing rains, telling them they would be provided with plastic sheets to cover themselves during their return journey.
Emilio lamented that he had lived in Shendi for more than 50 years and served in the army for 39 years, since the time when Sudan and South Sudan were a single country.
Shendi happens to be a small city in northern Sudan, located on the southeastern bank of River Nile some 150 kilometers, northeast of Khartoum.