South Sudan hospital hit by government air strike, MSF says

"The hospital was evacuated and patients were discharged hours before the attack after it received information about a possible strike against the city, MSF said in a statement. But one MSF staff member suffered minor injuries, it added. The hospital's main warehouse was destroyed during the attack, and we lost most of our critical supplies for providing medical care, said the statement."

"Gul Badshah, MSF's operations manager in South Sudan, stressed that the charity had shared the GPS coordinates of all our facilities with the government and other parties to the conflict before, and we received the confirmation that they are aware of our locations. The government of South Sudan armed forces are the only armed party with the capacity to perform aerial attacks in the country, he added."

An MSF hospital in Lankien, Jonglei state, was struck by a government air attack during renewed fighting between soldiers and a coalition of opposition forces in opposition-held areas. The incident marked the 10th attack in 12 months on an MSF-run medical facility in South Sudan. The hospital had been evacuated and patients discharged hours earlier after warnings of a possible strike; one MSF staff member sustained minor injuries. The hospital's warehouse and most critical medical supplies were destroyed. A separate MSF facility in Pieri was looted and rendered unusable. MSF teams and local communities fled and their whereabouts remain unknown. UN figures indicate about 280,000 people have been displaced in Jonglei, and government restrictions imposed in December have limited humanitarian access to opposition-held areas.

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