At least seven civilians were killed and 20 injured in a series of aerial attacks Saturday targeting a hospital and civilian market in Old Fangak, South Sudan, as tensions mount over the country's fragile peace agreement and fears rise of a return to civil war. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) confirmed the attack on its hospital, calling it a "clear violation of international law."
MSF said the bombing destroyed the only functioning hospital in Old Fangak, Jonglei State, which served more than 110,000 residents. "This attack has severely compromised our ability to provide lifesaving care in Old Fangak - the only hospital serving over 110,000 people in the area," the organization said in a statement. The pharmacy was burned, and medical supplies were lost in the attack.
Mamman Mustapha, MSF's Head of Mission in South Sudan, told Al Jazeera that two helicopter gunships "attacked the hospital" around 4:30 a.m. local time. "Two helicopter gunships first dropped a bomb on the MSF pharmacy, burning it to the ground, then went on to fire on the town of Old Fangak for around 30 minutes," he said. "There are reports of more fatalities and wounded in the community."
Hours later, a drone strike reportedly hit a nearby civilian market, further displacing thousands. Fangak County Commissioner Biel Boutros Biel blamed government forces, alleging in a broadcast statement that the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) were behind the assault. "The government is using natural resources to kill its own people because of their identity as Nuer," Biel said, referencing recent government declarations that labeled several counties, including Fangak, as "hostile."
The commissioner claimed more than 30,000 civilians had been displaced due to the attack. Old Fangak, located in the ethnically Nuer region, is traditionally aligned with opposition leader and Vice President Riek Machar, who has been under house arrest since March for alleged subversive activities. Machar's arrest, along with those of other opposition figures, has intensified ethnic and political divisions.
A joint statement from the embassies of the U.S., U.K., Germany, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, and the EU warned Friday that the political situation in South Sudan had "markedly worsened" and called on President Salva Kiir to release Machar. "All parties must end the use of violence as a political tool," the statement said.
Saturday's bombing is the second MSF facility to be targeted in less than a month. On April 14, armed men looted an MSF hospital in Ulang, Upper Nile State, cutting off healthcare access to thousands. Reporting from Nairobi, Al Jazeera's Catherine Soi said that eyewitnesses and local officials identified the aircraft involved in Saturday's attack as government-operated.
South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but plunged into civil war in 2013 after Kiir dismissed Machar as vice president. The conflict, largely fought along ethnic lines between Kiir's Dinka and Machar's Nuer factions, killed an estimated 400,000 people before a 2018 peace deal led to a fragile power-sharing government.
That agreement has since frayed. Elections scheduled for 2023 have been postponed twice and are now set for 2026. The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that 2.3 million South Sudanese have fled to neighboring countries, with another 2 million displaced internally due to conflict or natural disasters.
