JUBA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- International medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has strongly condemned the abduction of a Ministry of Health staff member from an MSF ambulance in South Sudan's Morobo County.
The charity said the incident, which saw the staff member abducted on July 25 and released the following day, further highlights the growing violence against healthcare workers in the country.
"This incident is not just an attack on one individual; it is a direct assault on the healthcare system meant to serve the most vulnerable in our communities," Ferdinand Atte, MSF's head of mission in South Sudan, said in a statement issued in Juba, the South Sudanese capital, on Sunday.
The charity said the staff member was accompanying patients who had been referred for advanced medical care in Yei and were returning to Morobo after their discharge.
According to MSF, armed individuals intercepted the ambulance during the journey, forced the staff member to leave the vehicle, and abducted her, while the MSF driver, other staff, and patients were allowed to continue.
"This is already the fourth serious security incident affecting MSF in just seven months, putting both our staff and the patients who rely on us at risk," it said, warning that such attacks also disrupt critical access to medical care for vulnerable communities that depend on these services.
MSF, which has been working in South Sudan for over four decades, responding to major crises including conflicts, floods, and disease outbreaks, as it continues to deliver lifesaving care despite ongoing violence, said no medical worker should have to risk their lives to save others.
The charity called on all parties involved in the ongoing conflict in South Sudan to fulfill their obligations to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including healthcare workers, patients, and medical facilities, and to guarantee safe access to populations in need.
The charity added that it has been forced to close two hospitals in South Sudan due to these attacks in Yei and Morobo counties, where the volatile security situation continues to present ongoing challenges for the delivery of medical and humanitarian services. ■
