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No fewer than 26 staff members of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)/Doctors Without Borders, an international non-governmental organisation, have gone missing after a surge in violence in South Sudan.
“Twenty-six of the 291 MSF colleagues working in Lankien and Pieri remain unaccounted for following the recent violence, and we have lost contact with them amid ongoing insecurity,” the NGO said in a statement.
South Sudan is experiencing ongoing violence, primarily driven by ethnic clashes, political disputes, and armed groups fighting for control.
The violence contributes to displacement, food insecurity, and disruption of aid operations, worsening the humanitarian crisis. The violence in the region has plunged it into a humanitarian crisis as civilians face displacement, food insecurity, and disruption of aid operations.
MSF has suspended medical services in Lankien and Pieri, both in Jonglei State, where clashes between government and opposition forces have been ongoing since December.
The NGO added that its facility in Lankien was hit by a government air strike on February 3, and many of its staff have been forced to flee.
“Many of our staff were forced to flee the violence alongside their families. Several are now displaced, sheltering in remote areas with little access to food, water or basic services,” MSF added.
Shortly after gaining independence and becoming the world’s youngest country in 2021, South Sudan plunged into internal conflict, mainly between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar.
The United Nations has urged the conflicting parties to resolve their disputes amicably and return normalcy to the war-torn country.
