Alarm after the attack of workers of the Red Cross in Congo on Ebola

DAKAR, Senegal – The international community sounded the alarm after the attack of three Red Cross employees as they tried to contain the latest deadly outbreak of Ebola in Congo.

The US Security Council wants an immediate end to hostilities as it travels Thursday for a visit to Congo. Human Rights Watch is calling for an investigation into the killings that killed more than 200 civilians this year in and around Beni, where health workers are working to fight the Ebola virus.

According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, two members of the Red Cross were seriously injured on Tuesday when community members attacked them while carrying out virus burials Ebola in the city of Butembo, in the north-east of the country.

This was the most violent attack against Red Cross workers during this outbreak, the organization said in a statement. In September, a Red Cross volunteer was injured when people threw stones at a vehicle carrying an interment team.

"While categorically denouncing the attack on our colleagues, we understand the fear and frustration currently felt by many communities in North Kivu," said Fatoumata Nafo-Traore, IFRC regional director for the region. ;Africa. "People are scared and a lot of rumors circulating that only reinforce the feeling of fear and mistrust."

This is the first time that this part of the Congo is facing an Ebola outbreak, which is spread through the bodily fluids of infected people, including those who die. The Congolese Ministry of Health said 130 Ebola cases have been confirmed, including 74 deaths, since the declaration of the outbreak on 1 August.

Safe burials are essential to stop the spread of the disease, and the Red Cross said it has made 162 in North Kivu since the beginning of the epidemic, the tenth of the Congo.

Insecurity is also a major challenge for health workers. Several armed groups ply the densely populated area near Uganda, have launched attacks and displaced one million people in North Kivu province alone.

The World Health Organization, which announced last week that the risk of Ebola spreading to the Congolese border was "very high" after the confirmation of cases near Uganda, said that the Epidemic was at a "critical point". The Director General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was concerned about the spread of the virus in inaccessible "red areas" controlled by armed groups.

Human Rights Watch said Thursday that more than 235 people were killed in the Beni region this year during attacks using rifles, axes or machetes. More than 165 others have been kidnapped. In the past four years, more than 1,000 people have died.

"The brutal killings of people in Beni will end only when the commanders of the responsible forces are brought to justice," said Ida Sawyer, deputy director of the group for Africa. "As the Congolese authorities have not conducted a credible investigation of these atrocities or credibly pursued these prosecutions, the International Criminal Court should investigate future trials."

Although many attacks have been blamed on the rebels of the allied democratic forces, Human Rights Watch has said that other armed groups and some Congolese army officers may be involved.

Military operations launched in the region have been ineffective, said the rights group.

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