JUBA, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- International medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said Tuesday it has suspended all outreach activities in Yei River County in southern South Sudan, following an attack on its staff.
MSF Head of Mission in South Sudan Iqbal Huda said that on Sept. 20, two clearly marked MSF vehicles were attacked while returning to the town of Yei from an outreach activity. The unknown armed men forced MSF staff to disembark at gunpoint, looting MSF and personal belongings. The armed men forcibly took an MSF staff member and a person from a partner organization into the bush, while allowing the two remaining MSF staff and drivers to continue with their vehicles.
"MSF strongly condemns this attack against health workers in an area, where people already face difficulty accessing healthcare. We are deeply shocked by this unacceptable attack on the provision of neutral and impartial humanitarian assistance for communities in need," Huda said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
Huda said the two abducted staff members were released 24 hours later.
The incident has forced MSF to suspend outreach movements and activities in the communities around Yei and Morobo County until concrete guarantees are made to ensure that medical and humanitarian services can continue unhindered.
According to MSF, this is the third attack on humanitarian organizations near Yei in three months, pointing to a systematic targeting of humanitarian aid.
