Eastern Congo is fighting two enemies at once. In the Congo Ebola outbreak, the disease is now being joined by gunmen. On Friday authorities said Islamic State-linked militants raided a village in North Kivu, killing at least 33 civilians and driving out patients with confirmed and suspected Ebola.
A Night Raid in North Kivu
The attackers struck a village about 50 km west of Beni at around 11 p.m. They belong to the Allied Democratic Forces, which Islamic State recognises as an affiliate. Officials said they burned a health post and set several houses on fire.
Colonel Charles Omeonga, the Beni territorial administrator, said a full death toll was not yet possible because heavy rain had slowed army operations. A local civil society leader said 33 bodies were recovered, many with gunshot wounds, and others burned or cut with machetes.
Patients Vanish Into the Community
The raid also emptied a nearby hospital. Its head doctor, Christian Kakule Vulembera, said one confirmed Ebola patient and five suspected cases fled, including three high-risk contacts. Dutch outlet Nu.nl reported that more than 180 people who may be infected ran away.
This is the nightmare for health teams. Once people disappear, contact tracing falls apart, and the virus can follow them to new villages.
An Outbreak Already at Huge Scale
North Kivu accounts for half of all new infections in the outbreak. Authorities have recorded more than 10,000 cases and 5,000 deaths across the country.
Attacks on health sites are not new in this region. During the 2018 to 2020 outbreak, violence killed more than 25 health workers. Earlier this year, mobs and gunmen again forced patients out of treatment centres in Ituri.
For communities along the Congo border, including Uganda and Rwanda, the lesson is plain. Ebola cannot be beaten with medicine alone. It needs security, trust and people who can reach the sick.
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