Ebola Hospital Tents On Fire in DR Congo

An Ebola treatment center in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo was set on fire by angry residents amid growing tensions over the handling of Ebola victims’ bodies during the country’s latest outbreak.

The violence happened in Rwampara, near Bunia in Ituri province, where protesters stormed and burned tents used for Ebola isolation and treatment after authorities refused to release the body of a local man for a traditional burial. Health officials suspected the man had died from Ebola, but relatives disputed the diagnosis.

The man who died was a popular figure in the local community and those upset by his death did not “grasp the reality of the disease,” Jean Claude Mukendi, who is co-ordinating the security response to Ebola in Ituri, told the Associated Press.

Witnesses told Reuters the young man was a footballer who had played with several local teams. His mother told the news agency she believed her son had died of typhoid fever, not Ebola.

Witnesses said police fired warning shots and tear gas as crowds clashed with security forces. Some aid workers fled the facility while treatment tents and at least one stored body were reportedly destroyed in the fire.

Malembe said the crowd did not believe the virus, which has so far killed more than 130 in eastern DR Congo, was real.

“People are not properly informed or sensitised about what is happening. For a certain segment of the population, especially in remote areas, Ebola is an invention by outsiders – it does not exist,” the politician said.

“They believe it is the NGOs and hospitals creating this to make money, and this is tragic.”

He said two tents had been burned down, along with a body that had been due to be buried.

The unrest highlights deep mistrust toward Ebola response teams and the difficulty of enforcing strict burial protocols in areas where traditional funeral practices are culturally important. Aid agencies say misinformation and fear are complicating efforts to contain the outbreak.

The current outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no widely approved vaccine or treatment. The World Health Organization has warned that the outbreak may be significantly larger than official figures suggest. Reports indicate hundreds of suspected cases and more than 100 deaths across eastern Congo, with cases also reported in neighboring Uganda.