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In this photo taken on Friday, October 5, Congolese soldiers on patrol in an area, civilians were killed by rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces in eastern Congo. The Congolese army announced on Sunday (October 21st) that the rebels had attacked an Ebola treatment center in Beni, killing more than a dozen civilians and abducting a dozen children, which could force the suspension of crucial efforts to control the virus in the region.
Al-Hadji Kudra Maliro / AP
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Al-Hadji Kudra Maliro / AP
In this photo taken on Friday, October 5, Congolese soldiers on patrol in an area, civilians were killed by rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces in eastern Congo. The Congolese army announced on Sunday (October 21st) that the rebels had attacked an Ebola treatment center in Beni, killing more than a dozen civilians and abducting a dozen children, which could force the suspension of crucial efforts to control the virus in the region.
Al-Hadji Kudra Maliro / AP
Congolese rebels killed 15 civilians and abducted a dozen children during an attack at the center of the latest Ebola outbreak, the Congolese army said Sunday. The violence threatened to force the suspension of crucial viral contamination efforts again.
The rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces, a militant Islamist group active in the Ugandan region since the 1990s, attacked positions of the Congolese army and several parts of Beni on Saturday and Sunday, Captain Mak Hazukay Mongha told reporters. The Associated Press.
Last month, Ebola prevention activities were suspended for several days in Beni after a deadly attack by the rebels, further complicating the means to search for and track those infected with the Ebola virus. Since then, many of the new Ebola cases have alarmed aid groups. The number of confirmed new cases has more than doubled.
The latest attack took place after the death of two medical workers by a militia in eastern Congo on Saturday while they were controlling an entry point to try to control the spread of the Ebola virus. It is believed that this is the first time that health workers are killed by rebels in this Ebola outbreak.
The Congolese Minister of Health has called this day a "black day" Saturday night for all those fighting the Ebola outbreak.
This day attack seems to be the first time that health workers are killed by rebels in this epidemic, which is taking place in what has been compared to a war zone. Controlling the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has been difficult as it lies in the middle of a conflict zone with many armed groups.
According to the Ministry of Health, a local militia called Mai Mai came out of the forest and opened fire on unarmed members of the Congo Rapid Intervention Medical Unit.
"Health workers are not targeted by armed groups," Health Minister Oly Ilunga told AP. "Our agents will continue to go to the field every day to fulfill their mission, they are true heroes and we will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure that they can do their job safely."
NPR's Eyder Peralta reports in Nairobi that health workers have struggled to vaccinate against the disease because of persistent rumors that they are spreading Ebola and taking organs.
Last week, 22 young bikers in Butembo exhumed a friend 's body to find out if it was intact. After negotiation, they agreed to reenter the body and be vaccinated against Ebola because they had handled an infected cadaver. They have joined the more than 20,000 people who have been vaccinated so far.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization declared that she was "deeply concerned" by the epidemic but that it still does not warrant being declared a global emergency. .
On October 19, according to WHO, the number of confirmed cases of Ebola was 200, of which 117 deaths.
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