The bombings of Old Fangak and Lankien by South Sudanese government forces cannot go unanswered.
Juba, 6 May 2026: On 3 May 2025, the hospital run by Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Old Fangak, Jonglei State, South Sudan, was deliberately bombed by government forces, despite being clearly marked and its GPS coordinates shared with authorities. A drone then struck the local market. Seven people were killed, 27 injured, including four MSF staff. The hospital never reopened.
Today, only two hospitals remain in the conflict-affected areas of Jonglei State, home to over 1 million people. Both are run by MSF. One more attack would mean the complete collapse of healthcare for an entire population. Since 2025, 12 attacks hit MSF staff and facilities across South Sudan.
Since January 2025, armed conflict has escalated sharply between government forces, the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and allied Ugandan People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), and opposition groups including the SPLA-IO, NAS, and Nuer White Army. A defining feature of this escalation is the increase in airstrikes: 138 were recorded in 2025, compared to just two in all of 20241. Between January and March 2026, at least 18 further airstrikes have occurred, the majority in Jonglei State. All available information indicates that the SSPDF and UPDF are the only parties with the capacity for aerial bombing.
Between January 2025 and April 2026, MSF experienced 12 attacks on its staff and facilities, all in areas controlled by opposition groups. These include the bombing of Old Fangak on 3 May 2025, the bombing of Lankien hospital on 3 February 2026, the looting of MSF facilities in Ulang, Pieri, and Akobo, and the abduction of MSF staff. All have been bombed, looted, or forced to suspend activities.
None have resumed operation, except the primary healthcare centre in Pieri, which partially reopened a few weeks ago for basic care only.
In 2025, more than 400,000 people lost access to MSF-supported healthcare following the bombing of Old Fangak and the looting of Ulang. In the first three months of 2026 alone, a further 366,000 people lost access following the bombing of Lankien and the looting of facilities in Lankien, Pieri and Akobo. There is no longer any surgical capacity in the conflict-affected areas of Jonglei State.
Akobo is emblematic of how quickly a community can be stripped of healthcare, shelter, food, and livelihoods. On 6 March, the government issued an evacuation order giving residents, UN agencies, and NGOs only 72 hours to leave ahead of an imminent military offensive against opposition-controlled areas. The hospital was looted shortly after. Today, almost no one remains in the town.
“Elderly people and people with disabilities were left behind. People were killed, they died from hunger and lack of water. All the water systems had been broken, even the solar panels taken. At least three people died from hunger and lack of water,” recounts an MSF staff member in Akobo, April 2026.
In the conflict-affected areas of Jonglei State, MSF operates two hospitals providing secondary healthcare, in Chuil and Paguir. For a population of over 1 million people, this is nowhere near enough. Consultations and admissions often take place outdoors due to limited infrastructure, while community-based teams reach displaced people and host communities trapped on overcrowded islands. These are the last lifelines many people displaced multiple times with nowhere to go.
MSF calls on all parties to the conflict, government forces and opposition groups alike, to immediately cease all attacks on health facilities and guarantee their protection. No military objective can ever justify, legally or morally, bombing a hospital, killing health workers, or leaving an entire population without access to care. Those responsible must be held accountable. Without accountability, impunity prevails.
