Escalating violence, including gang rapes and attacks on civilians, has sent thousands of people fleeing Leer and Mayendit counties in South Sudan, Doctors Without Borders known in French as Médecins Sans Frontières said on Thursday.
The ongoing clashes are forcing thousands of civilians to seek refuge in the bush, swamps and islands, with some people fleeing repeated attacks, MSF said, calling on all armed actors to stop the violence against the local population.
Survivors have told MSF of gang rapes, mass killings, villages looted and burned, and food reserves and possessions destroyed.
MSF said its mobile clinic teams are providing basic medical care to communities that they can reach and have treated 41 survivors of sexual violence in the past month alone.
“People are running away from the ruthless violence of the warring parties,” said Akke Boere, MSF operational manager. “They are caught between the front lines, and are themselves the target of attacks. Many tell us of neighbors and family members killed.”
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