An unspecified number of aid workers are missing after air strikes hit a hospital operated by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in South Sudan’s Jonglei state, close to the Ethiopian border, the medical charity has said.
In a statement, MSF said the hospital in Lankien was struck overnight on Tuesday in what it described as an air strike carried out by South Sudanese government forces. Authorities in Juba are yet to respond to the allegation.
On the same day, MSF reported a separate attack on its health facility in Pieri, also in Jonglei state, where unknown assailants looted the centre, rendering it unusable for the local population.
“Our colleagues had to flee with the community, and their fate and whereabouts are currently unknown,” the organisation said.
The incidents come amid renewed fighting in Jonglei between government troops and forces loyal to First Vice-President Riek Machar, who was recently suspended after being accused of plotting to overthrow President Salva Kiir. The escalation has raised fears of a return to full-scale civil war in the world’s youngest nation.
According to the United Nations, an estimated 280,000 people have been displaced in Jonglei since December due to clashes and aerial bombardments. The state is among South Sudan’s most food-insecure regions and faces acute health challenges.
MSF said it had received advance warnings of a possible attack on the Lankien hospital and evacuated staff and discharged patients hours before the strike. One staff member was injured, while the hospital’s main warehouse was destroyed along with large quantities of medical supplies.
Lankien has been a focal point of recent fighting between government and opposition forces. MSF noted that only the South Sudanese armed forces have the capacity to carry out aerial attacks in the country.
The charity said it is the sole healthcare provider for around 250,000 people in Lankien and Pieri, warning that the attacks would leave local communities without access to medical services.
“While we are fully aware of the immense humanitarian needs in the country, it is unacceptable for medical facilities and staff to be targeted,” said Gul Badshah, MSF’s operations manager.
MSF disclosed that it suffered eight targeted attacks in South Sudan last year, forcing the closure of two hospitals in Greater Upper Nile and the suspension of healthcare services in Jonglei, Upper Nile and Central Equatoria states.
In December, the South Sudanese government also imposed restrictions on humanitarian access to opposition-held areas of Jonglei, further limiting the delivery of essential medical assistance.
South Sudan plunged into civil war in 2013, two years after gaining independence, following a power struggle between Kiir and Machar. Although a 2018 peace deal ended the conflict that claimed nearly 400,000 lives, it has never been fully implemented, and tensions between the two leaders remain high.
