At least seven people were killed early Saturday when a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Old Fangak, South Sudan, was bombed in an airstrike. The attack destroyed the hospital’s pharmacy and all medical supplies.
MSF reported that the strike began at around 4 a.m. when helicopter gunships targeted the hospital, the only medical facility in Fangak County. A drone strike then hit a nearby market.
🚨@MSF strongly condemns the bombing of its hospital in Old Fangak, Jonglei State, South Sudan.
Around 4:30 a.m. today, helicopter gunships dropped a bomb on our MSF pharmacy and fired on the town for 30 minutes. Later, a drone bombed the market.#NotATarget pic.twitter.com/5u0TeJ6oDW
— MSF South Sudan (@MSF_SouthSudan) May 3, 2025
Biel Butros Biel, the Fangak County Commissioner, said a 9-month-old child was among the dead. At least 25 people were injured.
MSF condemned the attack, calling it a “clear violation of international humanitarian law.” The hospital was clearly marked and its location had been shared with all sides in the conflict, according to MSF Head of Mission Mamman Mustapha.
Witnesses told MSF the aircraft involved were operated by government forces. SOFX could not independently verify that claim.
Old Fangak is a stronghold of opposition groups aligned with First Vice-President Riek Machar, who is under house arrest after being accused of plotting rebellion.
Since March, South Sudan’s military, reportedly supported by Ugandan troops, has launched airstrikes across opposition-held regions. A United Nations official recently warned that the country may be close to another civil war.
South Sudan’s last civil war, from 2013 to 2018, killed an estimated 400,000 people and displaced more than 2 million.
