KINSHASA (Agencies) – Chaos erupted at a hospital treating Ebola patients in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo after a group of enraged youths stormed the facility late Sunday, forcing doctors and medical staff to evacuate patients as gunfire echoed through the area.
According to hospital officials, the attackers entered Mongbwalu General Hospital demanding the release of the bodies of two deceased relatives believed to have died from Ebola-related complications. The confrontation triggered panic inside the facility, with healthcare workers rushing to move infected patients to safety while security conditions rapidly deteriorated.
Dr Richard Lokudu, medical director of the hospital, said the situation remained tense and the entire medical complex had been placed on high alert. Authorities did not immediately confirm whether there were any casualties during the violence.
The latest assault highlighted growing public anger and mistrust surrounding the Ebola containment measures introduced by Congolese authorities and international health organisations.
The attack marked the third incident in less than a week targeting healthcare facilities battling the outbreak in Ituri province, where medical teams are struggling with limited resources, insecurity and resistance from local communities.
Health experts warn that bodies of Ebola victims remain highly infectious, making traditional funeral practices a major risk for further transmission of the virus. To limit the spread, the government has imposed restrictions on burial gatherings and banned funeral wakes involving more than 50 people in affected regions.
On Saturday, residents in Mongbwalu reportedly set fire to a treatment tent established by Doctors Without Borders for suspected Ebola patients. During the unrest, 18 suspected patients fled the facility and remained missing, raising fears of wider community transmission.
Another Ebola treatment centre in Rwampara was also torched earlier this week after family members were prevented from retrieving the body of a man believed to have died from the disease.
The World Health Organization has classified the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern, warning that the risk level inside Congo is now “very high”, although the global threat remains low.
Congolese authorities said the country had recorded more than 900 suspected Ebola infections, most of them concentrated in northeastern Ituri province. Official figures on deaths, however, remained unclear after conflicting statistics were released by government agencies.
Officials confirmed the outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no approved vaccine currently exists. The virus reportedly circulated undetected for weeks after the first known death in late April in Bunia.
Meanwhile, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said three of its volunteers had died after allegedly contracting the virus while handling bodies during a humanitarian mission in March, potentially indicating the outbreak began earlier than initially believed.
