Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has suspended operations in two South Sudanese counties after a second staffer was kidnapped in less than a week. The medical charity announced the suspension will last for at least six weeks following the abduction of a team leader from a convoy on Tuesday.
This recent abduction occurred just four days after a Health Ministry staffer was taken from an MSF ambulance on the same road as the earlier incident.
Gunmen reportedly stopped the MSF convoy during a medical evacuation from Morobo to Yei River counties, seizing the team leader but allowing others to continue.
Ferdinand Atte, the MSF head of mission in South Sudan, expressed outrage about the recent attack and urged an end to all attacks targeting humanitarian workers.
He stated that while the organization is deeply committed to providing care, they cannot keep their dedicated staff working in an unsafe environment. This abduction marks the second instance in less than three months that MSF has been forced to scale back its critical medical services in the area.
The charity had previously reduced its activities in May due to rising insecurity and suspended operations in internally displaced persons camps. These suspensions occurred specifically in Morobo county amid a continuing wave of violence affecting the entire region.