Doctors Without Borders said one of its hospitals in South Sudan had been bombed early on Saturday, with local officials reporting at least four dead in the area.
South Sudan has descended into renewed conflict in recent months due to the collapse of a power-sharing agreement between rival generals, president Salva Kiir and first vice-president Riek Machar.
MSF said its hospital in Old Fangak in the north of the country had been bombed at about 4:00am local time.
鈥楾he pharmacy was destroyed. All medical supplies lost. There are reports of people killed and injured,鈥� the medical charity said in a statement posted on Facebook.
The bombing came a day after army chief Paul Majok Nang threatened attacks in Fangak and Leer counties in response to a number of boats and barges being 鈥榟ijacked鈥�.
An army statement on Friday accused members of Machar鈥檚 forces and its allies in the so-called White Army, a militia drawn from the vice president鈥檚 ethnic Nuer community, of being behind the hijackings, which led to passengers and crew being 鈥榟eld hostage鈥� and ransoms demanded.
Biel Boutros Biel, a local official in Fangak County, confirmed that bombings had hit the area around 4 am on Saturday.
In a recorded statement, he said they were carried out by a drone and plane, displacing 鈥榦ver 30,000 people鈥� and killing at least four, including a nine-month-old boy. 鈥楾hese planes belonged to the government of South Sudan.鈥�
鈥楾he pharmacy of MSF has been burned to ashes... There are a lot of casualties,鈥� he added, saying there were at least 25 wounded at the hospital.
AFP could not independently verify the information.
MSF said it was the only functioning hospital in the area. 鈥楬ospitals are not a target. Stop the bombing.鈥�
Last week, an opposition lawmaker accused president Kiir鈥檚 government of preparing a 鈥榞enocide鈥� of the Nuer community by classifying their homelands as 鈥榟ostile鈥�.
A government statement listed nine out of 16 Nuer-majority counties as 鈥榗onsidered hostile鈥�, meaning aligned with Machar鈥檚 party.
South Sudan has been plagued by instability since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011.
Kiir and Machar represent the two largest ethnic groups, the Dinka and Nuer, respectively. They fought a civil war between 2013 and 2018 that cost some 400,000 lives.
