The medical humanitarian charity, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, said its hospital in Old Fangak Town in Jonglei State’s Fangak County was bombed by SSPDF planes in the wee hours of Saturday morning, resulting in several deaths and injuries.
The bombardment comes amid rising tensions in parts of the country, particularly in the Upper Nile region, since the beginning of this year. Fangak was one of the counties classified last week by the government in Juba as “hostile.”
The airstrike occurred a day after army spokesman Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang said military intelligence and complaints from various entities indicated that several barges and boats—including one belonging to the United Nations and another owned by a Sudanese businessman—had been hijacked by SPLA-IO fighters and the White Army in Fangak and Leer counties of Jonglei and Unity states, respectively.
The U.N. mission in South Sudan told Radio Tamazuj on Friday that no UNMISS assets were involved in such an incident. Other U.N. agencies could not be reached for confirmation.
In a brief statement on X (formerly Twitter), MSF said the hospital’s pharmacy was destroyed, all medical supplies were lost, and that there are reports of people killed and injured.
“Stop the bombing, protect civilians, protect healthcare,” the statement added.
Mamman Mustapha, MSF Head of Mission in South Sudan, strongly condemned the destruction of the hospital in Old Fangak.
“This facility was the only source of lifesaving care for over 40,000 people. Attacks on medical facilities are unacceptable and a clear violation of international humanitarian law,” he stated. “We call on all parties to the conflict to ensure the protection of civilians and humanitarian infrastructure, and to respect medical services at all times.”
Meanwhile, Fangak County Commissioner Biel Boutrus Biel told Radio Tamazuj Saturday that the attack on Old Fangak town happened at around 4 a.m. on Saturday and was carried out by two gunships, one drone, and another plane.
“The gunships came to Old Fangak, a civilian center, bombed it, and displaced over 30,000 people from the town. These gunships belong to the Government of South Sudan,” he said. “We saw a statement yesterday (Friday) from SSPDF Spokesperson Gen. Lul Ruai saying that they will target Fangak County and other areas such as Leer County in Unity State. Indeed, they have implemented it today and bombed Fangak Town, a civilian center that has nothing to do with any military activities.”
“There are casualties, and the reports we have gathered in the town indicate that four people died, including a 9-month-old baby boy, a lady, and two young men, as a result of the bombardment,” Commissioner Biel added.
He said that the MSF France-run hospital in Old Fangak Town was also bombed, and the pharmacy was completely burned.
“They burned the only place where civilians get medicines. So far, we have managed to identify 25 civilians who were injured, with some in critical condition,” Biel lamented. “We do not know how the casualties will survive because the only source of medication has been burnt. We are still gathering more information on the dead and injured and will give a final report.”
He asked why the government is killing its civilians using the country’s natural resources.
“These people of Fangak, like other people in other areas, are killed because they are Nuer and the government’s perception that they are affiliated with the SPLM-IO political party and its military wing, the SPLA-IO,” the official said. “Fangak falls among the 9 Nuer counties that were recently profiled and described by Cabinet Affairs Minister Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro as being hostile to the government. Indeed, what Lomuro communicated has been implemented.”
“My appeal to the government is to stop using the country’s natural resources to kill the people of South Sudan and to stop killing the Nuer Community because of their identity,” Biel implored. To the international community, what are you waiting for? This is genocide because the Nuer are being killed for their identity. Also, people are being killed because of their political affiliation to SPLM-IO.”
According to Commissioner Biel, the profiling of the Nuer people by Minister Lomuro and the government amounts to genocide.
“If the international community does not act now, they will regret it like it happened during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994, and we do not want this,” he said.
For his part, Ter Manyang, a civil society activist and the Executive Director of the Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), urged dialogue and said the attack on Fangak further deepens mistrust in the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.
“Bombardment of Old Fangak is not surprising because it came shortly after the SSPDF report of the seizure of barges by SPLA-IO in parts of Unity, Upper Nile, and Jonglei states,” he stated. “We condemn this attack, and what the government is doing is only destroying the trust in the Agreement.”