JUBA – Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says it has suspended all operational activities in Yei River and Morobo counties in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State for a minimum of six weeks following the abduction of an MSF staff member.
The incident happens just four days after the abduction of of a staff member from the Ministry of Health from MSF ambulance on the same road and location, before being released some hours later.
The latest abduction occurred during an evacuation of MSF staff from Morobo to Yei, in southern South Sudan, amid deteriorating security conditions.
The medical aid group said the four-vehicle convoy was stopped by armed gunmen, who ordered the MSF staff member, who was serving as the team leader of the convoy, out of the vehicle and pulled him into the thickets, while allowing the other vehicles and staff to proceed to Yei.
“We are outraged by this targeted attack. Attacks on humanitarian workers serving the most vulnerable members of the society must stop,” says Dr Ferdinand Atte, MSF head of mission in South Sudan.
“While we are deeply committed to providing care to those in need, we cannot keep our staff working in an unsafe environment.”
“It is crucial to ensure safe and unobstructed access to populations in need, and to protect civilians… before we can consider resuming our activities.”
The aid group says such abductions are part of a disturbing trend of targeted violence on healthcare and aid workers in Morobo and Yei counties.
In just three months, several incidents of violence targeting aid workers and healthcare facilities have been reported in Morobo, including forceful abductions, arson, violent looting of hospitals, and damage to medical infrastructure, it stated, adding that seven of these incidents involved the abduction of aid workers.
“We demand accountability and concrete guarantees from the authorities and all parties involved in the conflict, including armed groups in Morobo and Yei River counties,” says Dr Atte.
“It is crucial to ensure safe and unobstructed access to populations in need, and to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including healthcare workers, patients, and medical facilities, before we can consider resuming our activities.”
The residents of Yei River and Morobo counties live in remote and hard-to-reach areas, frequently cut off from essential services due to limited infrastructure and armed conflict. As a result, they rely heavily on humanitarian organisations like MSF for essential services.
This marks the second time MSF has been compelled to reduce its provision of medical services in the area in less than three months.
In May, the charity said it was forced to reduce activities due to escalating insecurity in the area. We also suspended all activities in camps for internally displaced people due to the relentless violence in Morobo county.
“MSF is one of the few medical organisations providing support to various healthcare facilities in this area,” says Dr Atte. “When such attacks occur, it is the local people who suffer the most, as it severely undermines their access to essential healthcare.”
In Yei River and Morobo counties, MSF provides general healthcare services by supporting four Ministry of Health facilities, offering outpatient consultations, routine vaccinations, and maternal and child healthcare.
MSF also conducts mobile clinics and supports community-based healthcare through the Boma Health Initiative programme in the area. Between January and June 2025, our teams conducted 14,500 outpatient consultations, 1,192 antenatal consultations, and assisted in 438 births in this area.