The international medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF – Doctors Without Borders) has leveled strong accusations, stating that all armed forces operating in South Sudan are exploiting humanitarian aid for political and military objectives. In its new statement, the organization strongly condemned the South Sudanese government, particularly for its systematic blockades preventing aid from reaching opposition-controlled areas.
The conflict in South Sudan between the government army and fighters loyal to the detained First Vice President Riek Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) has surged significantly since last year. This ongoing, devastating conflict has displaced tens of thousands of innocent civilians from their homes, driving communities living in opposition-controlled parts of the country into a severe humanitarian crisis.
In its detailed report, MSF stated that the government of South Sudan is issuing access blockages, recurring coercive letters, and evacuation orders directed at civilians and humanitarian organizations in conflict zones and opposition-controlled locations.
In its statement, the organization said, “At present, humanitarian aid is being instrumentalized for personal gain by all political and military actors. Attempts to force non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to relocate or divert their aid from certain areas are depriving entire communities of life-saving assistance.”
In conjunction with this, the medical aid organization noted that attacks on its health facilities have increased drastically. The aerial bombings of two hospitals in May of last year (2025) and in February of this year have left more than 762,000 citizens without access to basic medical services. Regarding the February bombing that struck a hospital in eastern Jonglei State, MSF explained that the government army is the only armed force in South Sudan with the capability to carry out aerial attacks.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk had previously warned in a statement that the massacres and sexual assaults committed against innocent civilians by soldiers, opposition fighters, and allied militias have brought South Sudan to an extremely dangerous point. MSF medical teams treated more than 1,800 people affected by violence in January and February of this year alone, which shows that the organization accommodated nearly 30% of the total number of patients it saw during the entire previous year in just a few months. These patients were reportedly victims of gunshots, blasts, and sexual assaults.
The peace deal reached in 2018 ended a five-year civil war between the forces of President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar that claimed nearly 400,000 lives. However, Machar’s arrest last year has raised serious fears that the country could once again return to a full-scale civil war. Currently, Machar and 20 other individuals are defending themselves in court against charges of treason linked to militia raids in the northeast.
