Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says it is mourning the death of David Deng Aleu, a South Sudanese nurse working at the MSF hospital in Agok.
MSF says David was killed inside his home on February 10th when intercommunal fighting broke out in Agok town of the disputed Abyei Administrative Area.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of our colleague and express our heartfelt condolences to David’s family and friends,” said Gouranga Manna, MSF Head of Mission in South Sudan said in a statement on Monday. “We strongly condemn this act of violence which has led to the tragic loss of lives in the community.”
MSF further stated that the fighting displaced several members of their staff and has been forced to temporarily suspend operations at the hospital.
The statement said 24 patients who were being treated at the facility were transferred to a hospital in Abyei.
“MSF’s principles of independence, impartiality, and neutrality mean that we provide medical care to any person in urgent need, regardless of their ethnicity, political affiliations, or any other factor,” said Gouranga Manna. “We call for respect and safety of our medical teams so that we can continue to provide these life-saving services.”
MSF remains committed to delivering medical assistance to the people of Agok. We are continuing to maintain a presence in the community to ensure access to essential medical care.
Abyei authorities said over the weekend that the four people were killed and six others wounded during an attack on the Anet area/ Agok town of Rumamer County by suspected armed youth from Twic County of Warrap State, on Thursday evening.