MSF “strongly” condemns an attack against one of its teams in South Sudan and suspends movements in two counties

He claims that one of his workers was injured while fleeing after the six members of the team jumped into the water when their boat was shot at.

Jan. 16 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The non-governmental organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has “strongly” condemned an attack carried out on Wednesday against boats carrying humanitarian aid in South Sudan, which left one injured, and has suspended its movements in two counties in Upper Nile. (northeast) until the safety of its personnel is guaranteed.

The NGO has indicated that the attacked boats, “clearly marked” with MSF logos, were transporting six members of its staff across a river on their return trip to Ulang after delivering medical supplies to a hospital in Nasir, before adding that The incident put the lives of humanitarian workers at risk.

Thus, he detailed that the shots forced the workers to jump into the water and swim to safety in a nearby village, before adding that one of them was injured during the escape. All of them finally arrived safely in Ulang after the incident, which he described as a “serious violation” of International Law.

“These types of attacks against health workers are unacceptable and underline the volatile climate in which humanitarian organizations operate in South Sudan,” said the head of the MSF mission in the African country, Zakaria Mwatia, in a statement published by the organization.

“People living in Nasir and Ulang counties already face limited access to healthcare and the impact of this violence further jeopardizes the delivery of essential medical services, exposing them to greater risks”; has explained.

MSF has stressed that it has been forced to suspend all movements for health activities in Nasir and Ulang and has called for “immediate” measures to be put in place to guarantee the safety and protection of humanitarian workers and the delivery of health care. to those who need it.

Despite a decline in violence due to political conflict in South Sudan in recent years, the country has seen an increase in inter-communal clashes and still fails to deliver on some of the transition promises made in the 2018 peace agreement, including to give the population for the first time the right to go to the polls to elect their leaders.