Activity in Juba’s main market area appeared normal on Friday — but tight faces and anxious looks revealed the fear under the surface that South Sudan’s civil war could re-ignite.The crowd picking through stands and shops at the city’s Customs market might have been the same as on regular days, but the prices were steeply higher, discouraging actual purchases.Heightened confrontation in recent weeks between the rival factions which fought each other in the 2013-2018 civil war has everyone on edge.”Prices have skyrocketed to unprecedented levels,” said Samuel, a food seller in his 40s.”The biggest wholesalers are hiking prices out of fear that chaos will break out. Sales have dropped significantly, and the market has become unpredictable,” he told AFP.On his stand, maize flour — a staple in the region — was selling for $4, double the price before the latest political developments. Samuel explained that he was having difficulty replenishing his stocks.”Suppliers and importers are afraid to bring in goods. Whenever they hear about political tensions in Juba, they hesitate at the Nimule border (with Uganda), fearing for their safety.”He said he had put in an order for maize flour, “but my supplier keeps dodging me, refusing to confirm whether my stock is even on the way.”Clashes that started in the northeast of the country have now spread to other areas, and the relationship forged by the peace agreement between the factions’ leaders — President Salva Kiir and his First Vice President Riek Machar — has fallen apart.Juba’s residents woke on Wednesday to the sound of artillery, as the rival forces battled each other in a suburb.Later that day, Kiir sent in authorities to arrest Machar, whom he is keeping under house arrest.The spectre of a renewed war hangs over the city and the country. In the five-year conflict, some 400,000 people were killed and four million people displaced.- ‘Very, very scared’ -Elsewhere in the market, Gladys, who supplements her work for a local NGO by selling juices and beer from her home, had her eyes wide open at the prospect of war returning.”Honestly, we are terrified. We’ve lived through this before,” she said.She explained that she and her loved ones were staying at home as much as possible, anxious to see what happens next.”We’ve come a long way as a country, and to see it all crumble again is heartbreaking. If we go back to war, we’ll be starting from zero,” she said. “Another war would set us back decades. To be honest, I’m very, very scared.”A customer in the market, Jacob Mawien, said “there was a lot of panic, especially online,” at the developing situation.”People fear that war could break out at any time. I remember the past conflicts, and I worry that we may be heading in the same direction. The fear is real,” he said.At the exit to the market, a waiting taxi driver, Abdallah Segenda, also spoke of the horrors of the past, and the fear they might come back.”In 2016, during the last conflict, bodies were left rotting on the streets. If fighting starts again, I don’t have the money to flee,” he said.”War is looming, and every time there is fighting, the dollar shoots up. War is not good. God save the people of Juba.”
