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JOHANNESBURG – Congolese rebels have killed 15 civilians and abducted a dozen children in the attack at the center of the latest Ebola outbreak, the Congolese army said on Sunday. The violence threatened to force the suspension of efforts to contain the virus again.
The outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo was declared on August 1 and mainly affects the North Kivu province, bordering Uganda and Rwanda. The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that there had been up to now 117 confirmed deaths from the Ebola virus and 35 deaths probably caused by the disease, out of more than 200 cases . This is the 10th outbreak in the country since 1976.
Efforts to combat the disease have been complicated by fighting between government forces and armed militias and attacks on medical personnel.
"We condemn this attack," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization. "Everyone should work for peace and fight Ebola."
Rebels of the Democratic Allied Forces attacked positions of Congolese troops and several neighborhoods in Beni, a city in north-eastern Congo where many new Ebola cases were reported Saturday and Sunday, said Captain Mak Hazukay Mongha of the Congolese army. The UN peacekeeping mission said its troops had fired shots with rebels in the Mayangose region of Beni.
The rebels of the group, one of the many militias active in the extreme northeastern Congo, have killed hundreds of civilians in recent years. The group has a history of cross-border fighting with the Ugandan army, attacks on peacekeepers and massacres of civilians.
Angry at the killings, Beni residents carried four bodies to the town hall on Sunday, where the police dispersed them with tear gas. The vehicles of humanitarian organizations and the peacekeeping mission were covered with stones, reported Radio Okapi, which is supported by the United Nations.
W.H.O. said to be "deeply concerned" by the epidemic but that this did not yet justify being declared a world emergency. To receive this designation, a home must be an "extraordinary event" that can cross borders, requiring a coordinated response. Confirmed cases have been discovered near the busy border with Uganda.
The Congolese Ministry of Health reported "numerous assaults" during the new outbreak against health workers, who reported daily shots. Many operate under the armed escort of UN peacekeepers or Congolese security forces and put an end to work at sunset to reduce the risk of attack.
At the end of last month, confinement efforts were suspended for several days in Beni after an attack that claimed the lives of more than 20 people, hampering the work of researching and tracking suspected contacts of infected people. Since then, many of the new confirmed cases of Ebola have been reported in Beni, with the rate of new cases having more than doubled overall, alarming aid groups.
Weekend attacks in the Beni region took place after two Congolese army medical officers were shot dead – the first time health workers were killed by rebels during the outbreak.
It is a "dark day" for all those fighting the Ebola virus, said Saturday the Congolese Minister of Health, Dr. Oly Ilunga Kalenga, announcing the deaths.
Mai Mai rebels came out of the forest and opened fire on unarmed agents with the rapid intervention medical unit of the army at the entrance to Butembo town, announced the Ministry of Health.
The day attack seemed premeditated, with civilians present being left unharmed, the statement said. The medical officers had been placed in "danger zones" to help border health officials at the borders.
"Our agents will continue to travel to the field every day to fulfill the mission entrusted to them," said the Minister of Health. "We will continue to take all necessary steps so that they can do their job safely."
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