At least seven people have been killed and 20 others injured in aerial bombings that struck a hospital and a market in Old Fangak, Jonglei State, South Sudan, according to medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The attacks have escalated concerns of a return to full-scale civil war in the country.
MSF reported that helicopter gunships dropped a bomb directly on the pharmacy of its hospital, setting it ablaze, before the area came under sustained fire for about 30 minutes. A drone strike reportedly followed, targeting a local market. The hospital, the only one serving over 110,000 people in Fangak County, was left in ruins with all medical supplies destroyed.
Describing the incident as a “clear violation of international humanitarian law,” MSF spokesperson Mamman Mustapha said the hospital was clearly marked and that its coordinates had been shared with all warring parties. “The hospital is clearly marked as ‘hospital’ with our logo,” Mustapha emphasized. “We have shared also our coordinates… so the hospital should be known to both parties as a hospital.”
While the perpetrators remain unconfirmed, local witnesses have alleged that government helicopters were responsible for the bombings. South Sudan’s government has not issued an official response, and the BBC has contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
The bombing occurred amid rising tensions between President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar. Hours earlier, Army Chief Paul Majok Nang vowed retaliatory strikes following the hijacking of several river barges, which he blamed on a militia group linked to Machar. Machar, who was arrested in March on charges of inciting rebellion, has not responded to the accusations.
Observers, including Nicholas Haysom, head of the UN mission in South Sudan, have warned the country is “teetering on the brink of a return to full-scale civil war.” The government has recently labeled several counties as hostile—suggesting alignment with Machar—raising fears of a broader ethnic-based conflict between the nation’s two largest groups.
South Sudan gained independence in 2011 but plunged into civil war just two years later after President Kiir dismissed Machar. The conflict, largely fought along ethnic lines, claimed an estimated 400,000 lives and displaced over 2.5 million people. Though a peace deal was signed in 2018, its implementation has stalled. Elections have yet to be held, and efforts to unify the military have faltered, with many militias still aligned with political leaders.
The latest bombing is part of a growing pattern of violence that includes a March attack on a UN helicopter in Upper Nile state, which killed several, including a senior army general. Rights groups have condemned the military’s continued targeting of civilian areas and are urging restraint to prevent the country from descending further into chaos.