Hospital run by Doctors Without Borders targeted and destroyed by bombing attacks.
In the wee hours of Saturday morning, a devastating attack struck the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Old Fangak, South Sudan. This brutal assault claimed the entire medical supply, according to the humanitarian organization's statement.
"At dawn's break, our Old Fangak MSF Hospital was mercilessly bombed," MSF declared in a statement released today.
Damage was extensive, the pharmacy obliterated, and all medication lost. Reports suggest casualties – deaths and injuries – as a result of this heinous act.
The mayhem kicked off around 4:30 am [11:30 pm EST] as two combat helicopters payloaded a bomb onto the heart of MSF's pharmacy, reducing it to ashes. The assault continued, with the helicopters firing on the town of Old Fangak for approximately 30 minutes.
"The hospital's location is crystal clear. I question whether this was mere misfortune," said Mamman Mustapha, MSF's South Sudan mission chief, during a phone conversation with AFP. "We've been an established presence here since 2014, sharing coordinates. They should've recognized us. Yet, they relentlessly bombed civilians."
Recent months have witnessed a deterioration of security conditions in South Sudan, with clashes between the forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those allied with First Vice President Riek Machar, who was apprehended in March, stoking apprehensions of a revival of the brutal civil war that concluded in 2018, claiming about 400,000 lives.
Yesterday, warnings were issued by army chief Paul Majok Nang against rival groups in the counties of Fangak and Leer. The MSF hospital, reportedly the only functioning medical facility in the region, now stands as the latest target amidst South Sudan's chaotic landscape.
"Hospitals are sanctuaries, not targets. Cessate the bombing," MSF appealed.
While specific details about the Old Fangak incident remain scant from the search findings, South Sudan and neighboring Sudan have been grappling with critical incidents affecting humanitarian efforts. For example, MSF has strongly criticized the armed plundering and forced shutdown of its Ulang hospital in South Sudan's Upper Nile State[2].
- The brutal assault on the MSF hospital in Old Fangak, South Sudan, has raised concerns about the safety of medical facilities, particularly in the context of ongoing political tensions and wars.
- Scientific advancements are essential in providing necessary medical care during conflicts, yet the destruction of the MSF hospital's pharmacy in Old Fangak leaves many wondering about the availability of vital medicines in such critical situations.
- Amidst rising turmoil and conflicts in South Sudan, the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas, including medical facilities like the MSF hospital in Old Fangak, highlights the urgent need for political decisiveness and commitment to upholding international humanitarian law.
