By Matik Kueth
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has suspended all humanitarian operations in Yei River and Morobo counties for a minimum of six weeks, following the targeted abduction of one of its staff members during an emergency evacuation.
The decision comes just days after another alarming incident involving the kidnapping of health ministry personnel from an MSF ambulance in the same location.
The latest incident occurred during an evacuation operation of MSF staff from Morobo to Yei, due to escalating insecurity.
In a statement, Dr. Ferdinand Atte, MSF’s Head of Mission in South Sudan, expressed displeasure with the targeting of aid workers.
He stated that gunmen intercepted a convoy of four MSF vehicles, forcibly removing the convoy leader and leading him into surrounding thickets, while the remaining vehicles and workers were permitted to go uninjured to Yei.
“We are outraged by this targeted attack. Our teams work tirelessly to provide life-saving care to the most vulnerable people in some of the most dangerous and remote parts of the country. Attacks on humanitarian workers must stop,” Dr. Atte said.
The incident marks a disturbing escalation in targeted violence against humanitarian and health workers in the region.
Atte revealed that Morobo County alone has seen multiple incidents over the past three months, including abductions, arson, looting of health facilities, and the destruction of vital medical infrastructure. Seven of these incidents involved the kidnapping of aid workers.
“We demand accountability and concrete security guarantees from local authorities and all armed actors. We cannot continue to work where our teams are being directly targeted and attacked. Ensuring the safety of our staff and patients is non-negotiable,” he added.
MSF is among the few remaining medical aid organizations still operating in this volatile and conflict-ridden region. In Yei and Morobo, the organization supports four Ministry of Health facilities, offering outpatient consultations, maternal and child healthcare, routine immunizations, and mobile clinic services.
From January to June 2025, MSF conducted 14,500 outpatient consultations, 1,192 antenatal visits, and assisted 438 childbirths in the area.
“The people of Yei and Morobo live in hard-to-reach and underserved areas, cut off from essential services due to poor infrastructure and conflict. When we are forced to suspend operations, it’s the local population who pays the price,” he stated.
This is the second time in under three months that MSF has been forced to reduce or suspend its activities in Morobo due to deteriorating security.
In May, the organization scaled down its operations and temporarily ceased services in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps amid another wave of violence.
Earlier this year, MSF staff faced multiple security incidents across other regions of South Sudan.
A photo of an MSF vehicle convoy operating in Morobo County, Central Equatoria State, in July [Photo – Courtesy].
Staff were forced to abandon the boats and swim to safety, with one person sustaining injuries.
On April 14, 2025, armed men looted MSF’s hospital in Ulang in broad daylight, threatening staff and patients while damaging medical infrastructure. This resulted in the complete shutdown of all hospital and outreach services, cutting off more than 150,000 people from essential medical care according to MSF.
Just weeks later, on May 3, MSF’s hospital in Old Fangak, Jonglei State, was bombed by two gunship helicopters, destroying the pharmacy and severely disrupting healthcare services. The aerial attack killed at least seven people, injured 27, and left four MSF staff members wounded.
The latest Yei and Morobo incidents are part of a wider and alarming pattern of violence against aid workers and health infrastructure throughout South Sudan in 2025.
The aid agency reaffirmed its call on the parties to the conflict, including government forces, opposition groups, and local militias, to respect international humanitarian law, which obligates all actors to protect civilians, health workers, and medical facilities.