MSF South Sudan: As violence re-erupts in Malakal town, more than 25,000 people are sheltering in Protection of Civilians site

JUBA, South Sudan, April 24, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Fresh fighting took place overnight on 21 April in Malakal between armed groups, causing some 900 people to flee to the Protection of Civilians site in Malakal, bringing the number of displaced people in the compound to more than 25,000. Two people were killed in the violence and an unknown number were injured. With tensions in the area still high, MSF’s team in Malakal is preparing for a potential influx of wounded. Due to the extremely volatile situation, the team has been forced to suspend some of its mobile clinics in remote areas where displaced people are sheltering.

Some 4,600 people have fled to the Protection of Civilians site in Malakal since violence re-erupted at the start of April, putting further strain on the already limited resources within the site.

In Mellut, some 1,000 families, mostly of the Shilluk ethnic group, have fled their camp and sought refuge across the Nile in the Noon area, some 10 km from Mellut. MSF, one of few organisations working in Mellut, is running a mobile clinic to provide them with medical care and is preparing to do a supplementary food distribution.

MSF calls upon all parties to the conflict to respect and facilitate humanitarian assistance to people affected by the civil war in South Sudan.