Bullet and blast injuries … and a constant need for blood: inside South Sudan’s overwhelmed trauma wards

A ward at Juba military hospital for people wounded in communal violence and fighting between militia and South Sudan’s government forces. Photograph: Deng Machol/The Guardian

By 11am on a recent Thursday, Dr Slobodan Mirosavljev had already seen two critically wounded patients at Juba military hospital. The day was barely halfway through, but the surgeon couldn’t say how long he would be at the facility.

A patient shot in the abdomen, head or chest could arrive without warning. A helicopter could bring several critically wounded people from another part of South Sudan. A mass casualty incident could fill the wards within hours.