Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Saturday, confirmed its hospital in Old Fangak, South Sudan, was bombed in an airstrike that killed at least seven people and injured 20 more.
The facility, the only medical care source for over 110,000 people, was left in ruins after two helicopter gunships targeted its pharmacy, burning it to the ground. Following that, a drone strike hit the nearby market, resulting in further casualties.
The assault came amid escalating tensions between President Salva Kiir’s forces and First Vice-President Riek Machar’s supporters, igniting fears of a deepening conflict.
The attack on the MSF hospital, located 475 kilometers from the capital, Juba, has sparked outrage, with MSF calling it a clear violation of international law.
The medical group also stressed that the hospital had been operating in the region for years, with its coordinates shared with all parties.
“This was not an accident. The hospital is clearly marked,” said Mamman Mustapha, MSF’s head of mission in South Sudan, emphasizing the deliberate targeting. “They know us, and they continued shelling on the civilian population.”
The Old Fangak hospital had long been a refuge in a region struggling with limited healthcare access, and this assault leaves thousands without life-saving care.
The bombing follows recent tensions between the forces of Kiir and Machar, particularly after army chief Paul Majok Nang’s threat to attack Fangak and Leer counties.
His comments came after a series of boat hijackings blamed on Machar’s militia, the White Army. While Kiir’s government claims these hijackings were orchestrated by Machar’s forces, opposition spokespeople vehemently deny the allegations.
Local official Biel Boutros Biel reported that the airstrikes displaced over 30,000 people, with many fleeing on foot or by boat, amid floodwaters that have already strained the town’s resources. The violence has further destabilized a region already suffering from a long-running political and humanitarian crisis.
The attack has drawn international condemnation, with the U.S. and other Western embassies calling for an urgent political solution. The embassies also urged Kiir to release Machar from house arrest to resume peace talks.
South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, has faced violence since its 2011 independence from Sudan.
The civil war from 2013 to 2018 resulted in the loss of around 400,000 lives, with the Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups – representing Kiir and Machar, respectively – locked in a bitter struggle for power.
MSF has condemned this attack as part of a broader pattern of government violence against opposition-held areas. Last month, an MSF facility in Upper Nile State was looted, exacerbating the region’s already dire humanitarian situation.
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