South Sudan: MSF Staff Killed, Wounded in Attack on Vehicle

JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN — A group of armed men attacked a vehicle belonging to the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in South Sudan on Monday, August 5, seriously wounding two staff members, one of whom died two days later.

While the exact circumstances of the shooting attack remain unclear, it occurred on a main road outside Juba, South Sudan’s capital, and on a clearly marked MSF car. MSF is outraged by this unprovoked assault on a humanitarian organization that has been working in South Sudan for more than thirty years. These types of incidents directly impact the ability of aid workers to provide much-needed, lifesaving medical assistance.

“We have requested the authorities to investigate the brutal attack that resulted in the killing of our colleague,” said Marcel Langenbach, MSF director of operations. “We want to emphasise the need to respect international humanitarian law and the obligation to ensure the protection of humanitarian workers, their property, and health facilities,” he said.

The MSF staff person killed, named Joseph, was 28 and had been working for the organization since 2012.

“Joseph was an excellent colleague,” said Raphael Gorgeu, country manager for MSF in South Sudan. “His personality and positive attitude will be missed by the whole team. His tragic death is a terrible loss for his family, for MSF, and for his country.”

MSF is an independent international medical humanitarian organization that has been delivering emergency aid to South Sudanese people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion, and natural disasters for the last 30 years. In 2012 alone, MSF carried out 702,634 outpatient consultations, admitted 34,324 patients to hospital, treated 141,525 people for malaria, assisted with 10,918 births, treated 29,018 children for malnutrition, performed 3,257 surgeries, and vaccinated 253,237 children against measles.