NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Medical charities say more than 20 Doctors Without Borders staff are still missing a month after attacks in South Sudan.
Two facilities operated by the group, known by its French abbreviation MSF, were attacked on February 3 in Jonglei state, northeast of the capital Juba, where violence has displaced some 280,000 people since December.
Médecins Sans Frontières said a hospital in the town of Langien was bombed by government forces, while another health facility in the town of Pieri was attacked by “unidentified assailants”. Both are located in opposition-controlled areas.
Staff working at both facilities fled, along with much of the local population, to rural areas where armed clashes and aerial bombardments were taking place.
Médecins Sans Frontières said in a statement on Monday that “out of 291 of our colleagues working in Lankien and Pieri, 26 are still missing.
“Due to the ongoing insecurity, we have lost contact with them,” the statement said.
The lack of communication with its staff may be related to the limited internet connectivity in much of the state. Staff contacted described “destruction, violence and extreme hardship”.
Fighting escalated sharply in December when rebel forces seized a series of government posts in north-central Jonglei state. In January, the government launched a counteroffensive and regained most of the lost areas.
Displaced people in the opposition-held town of Akobo near the Ethiopian border described horrific violence by government militants. Many people said they walked for days to reach safety but were unable to find food or water.
Aid groups said the attacks on facilities run by Doctors Without Borders in Lankien and Pieri were part of an escalation of violence targeting humanitarian workers, supplies and infrastructure. Facilities run by Doctors Without Borders have been attacked 10 times in the past 12 months.
Yashovardhan, the head of the Médecins Sans Frontières mission in South Sudan, who used only one name, said: “This violence is taking an unbearable toll not only on health services, but also on the people who keep these services running.”
“Medical workers must not be targeted,” he said. “We are deeply concerned about what is happening to our colleagues and the communities we serve.”
