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According to the Congolese Ministry of Health, at least 12 people were killed on Saturday and a dozen were kidnapped in the city of Beni as a result of an armed incursion by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an active rebel group In the region.
"We condemn this attack." Civilians are #NotaTarget, everyone should work for peace and fight Ebola, "Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, chief executive of the World Health Organization, said in a tweet on Sunday. He said he was informed by the DRC Minister of Health.
The Ministry of Health announced that Beni residents took to the streets on Sunday to protest killings and kidnappings, destroying several government buildings and forcing a temporary halt to the fight against Ebola.
The fighting is part of the continuing rise of insecurity in the unstable North Kivu province, which has made the Ebola response particularly complex and dangerous.
"This latest attack is the 10th major insecurity incident in Beni or around Beni, the epicenter of #Ebola's epidemic over the past two months," said Dr. Peter Salama, Deputy Director General of WHO for Emergency Preparedness and Response, in a posted tweet. On Sunday, he added, "It will be very difficult to stop the epidemic if this violence continues."
WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told CNN last week that the recent spike in violent incidents in the country has made the response of health workers more difficult, increasing the risk of spreading the disease. only in the DRC, but also in neighboring countries.
The province of North Kivu is at the center of the current epidemic, although some cases have been reported in the neighboring province of Ituri, according to WHO. The two provinces, which are among the most populous in the country, are bordering on Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.
On average, Ebola – which causes fever, severe headaches and, in some cases, haemorrhage – kills about half of infected people, but the case fatality rate in different epidemics ranges from 25% to 90%.
Susan Scutti from CNN contributed to this report.
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