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The French medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on Tuesday accused South Sudan’s government of deliberately blocking humanitarian access to regions controlled by opposition forces.
According to a newly released report, MSF highlighted a deeply concerning pattern of access blockages, coercive letters, and evacuation orders issued by state authorities against both civilians and aid agencies in contested areas.
The organisation further alleged that all factions involved in the country’s ongoing conflict are weaponising and exploiting humanitarian aid to advance their own political and military goals, effectively cutting off entire communities from vital, life-saving resources.
The surge in violence follows the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar, which sparked intense clashes between the national military and fighters loyal to his Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) party.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting, with UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk previously warning that the nation has reached a dangerous tipping point.
MSF reported a massive influx of casualties, having treated more than 1,800 patients for gunshot wounds, blast injuries, and sexual assault in the first two months of this year alone—a figure representing nearly 30 per cent of their entire caseload from the previous year.
The conflict has also severely impacted the healthcare infrastructure.
MSF revealed that targeted attacks on its facilities, including the aerial bombings of two hospitals in May 2025 and February 2026, have stripped an estimated 762,000 people of access to medical care.
The charity noted that during the February strike in the eastern Jonglei state, government forces were the only combatants with aerial attack capabilities.
Neither the South Sudanese government, the military, nor the SPLA-IO responded to requests for comment regarding the allegations, which threaten to completely dismantle the fragile stability established by a 2018 peace agreement.
