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                Violence in South Sudan Town Shuts Down Hospital

   by Jill Craig

   The humanitarian situation in a rural area of eastern South Sudan
   appears to be worsening after a hosptial run by an international
   medical group was heavily damaged in violence last week.
   Residents are fleeing Pibor town, which is in Jonglei state, near the
   border with Ethiopia, and some NGO's are evacuating staff from the
   area.
   The local hospital, which was run by the Medicines San Frontieres
   (MSF), has suspended its operations.
   Speaking from Brussels, the MSF Coordinator of Operations for South
   Sudan Richard Veerman said that stepped-up tensions caused the group to
   begin evacuating staff three weeks ago.
   "We've been able to have a look the day before yesterday and found out
   that not only are we missing our food stocks and beds, but more
   worrying has been the deliberate attempt to make our facility
   inoperable," he said.
   "Electric cables were cut, drugs were smashed on the floor and stamped,
   offices were [damaged], air conditioning of our pharmacy was ripped off
   the wall and stomped on the floor...so this makes it very difficult for
   us to get back to operations..."
   Now that the hospital is inoperable, Veerman said his biggest concern
   is the health and safety of residents, who already had a tough time
   obtaining medical services before this latest incident.
   "Normally," he said, "we talk about a population of roughly 100,000 who
   have no access to healthcare. We were the only place that was providing
   healthcare in the larger area around Pibor. These people have no access
   to healthcare at the moment."
   The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said in Juba on
   Tuesday that it is concerned about reports of incidents carried out by
   what it calls "allegedly defected and ill-disciplined members of
   security forces." It's also concerned about statements coming from
   David Yau Yau's militia telling civilians to leave Pibor and Kapoeta,
   in Eastern Equatoria state.
   Ding Akol, the minister of local government in Jonglei state, was
   serving as the acting governor when the hospital was looted. He said
   the government is investigating who is behind the violence.
   "You know what happened in Pibor is that there was a rumor circulating
   among the civil population in Pibor town that Yau Yau is going to
   attack Pibor. So he created a commotion in town, so the civilians, most
   of them left the town, fearing that the town will be attacked by the
   Yau Yau," he said. "And in that, some few elements from the other
   organized forces - police, prison, they left. And they are the ones we
   suspect broke into the MSF compound."
   PLAN International is a children's rights NGO that works in the
   area.Its South Sudan Country Director, Gyan Adhikari, said they are
   concerned about the security situation in Pibor, especially in light of
   the looting of the MSF hospital, and has been withdrawing its
   non-essential staff from the area over the last few days.
   He said he doesn't know when they will be able to return.
   "It depends upon the government's actions, you know. How far, how fast
   the government takes action and returns the peace, the security over
   there," he said. "So we can go as soon as possible because we are
   ready. I can't predict the date but I am hoping two to three weeks'
   time, it will get better. But that's my prediction. It might work, it
   might not work."
   A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated on Thursday
   that the UN Mission in South Sudan has a "full-time" presence in Pibor
   and that UNMISS peacekeepers have clear instructions to assist in
   protecting the civilian population there.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/fears-of-humanitarian-crisis-rise-as-
   ngos-leave-pibor/1663119.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/fears-of-humanitarian-crisis-rise-as-ngos-leave-pibor/1663119.html