Mapaballo Borotho
- Doctors Without Borders has suspended operations in Central Equatoria State, South Sudan, for six weeks after the second abduction of its staff.
- The organisation condemned the attacks, saying it cannot risk staff safety in the worsening security crisis.
- Recent months have seen a rise in targeted violence against aid workers, including abductions, looting, and arson.
Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF) has suspended all its activities in Central Equatoria State, South Sudan, for six weeks following the second abduction of one of its staff members in less than a week.
The most recent incident occurred just four days after a staff member from the Ministry of Health was forcibly taken from an MSF ambulance.
According to the organisation, the abducted MSF member, who was leading a four-vehicle convoy, was pulled into the bush by armed gunmen while the rest of the convoy was allowed to continue to Yei. He was later released after several hours.
In a statement, Dr. Ferdinand Atte, MSF’s head of mission in South Sudan, expressed outrage over the escalating violence:
“We are outraged by this targeted attack. Attacks on humanitarian workers serving the most vulnerable members of society must stop. While we are deeply committed to providing care to those in need, we cannot keep our staff working in an unsafe environment.”
The suspension comes amid rapidly deteriorating security conditions in the war-stricken country.
In the past three months alone, Morobo County has seen multiple violent attacks on aid workers and health facilities, including abductions, arson, hospital lootings, and the destruction of medical infrastructure.
At least seven recent incidents involved the kidnapping of humanitarian workers.
This crisis adds to an already dire humanitarian situation in the region.
Just two months ago, MSF warned that women and children in Sudan’s Darfur region face the constant threat of sexual violence due to ongoing conflict.
The war in Sudan erupted in April 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over control of the country.
The conflict traces back to a power struggle following the collapse of joint civilian-military rule after the 2021 coup.
MSF says its priority remains the safety of its staff, but warns that the suspension of operations will leave thousands of vulnerable South Sudanese without much-needed medical care.
READ NEXT: ANC MP Soviet Lekganyane to chair Mkhwanazi investigation ad hoc parliamentary committee
