Updated

The International Committee of the Red Cross says more than a dozen people died as a result of clashes that forced medical workers to vacate a hospital where advanced surgeries had been taking place.

The ICRC said in a statement Friday that a hospital it supports in Upper Nile state was attacked on July 5, leaving two people dead and 11 more injured.

The aid agency said that after doctors and nurses fled the hospital in Kodok, an additional 11 patients died because of the absence of surgical expertise.

The ICRC said it suspended its medical mission there and that its team would return when the situation improves.

South Sudan has been plagued by violence since December 2013 as government troops battle rebels led by a former deputy president.