Nile Post
ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
    • 2021 Elections Watch
      • The Election Podcast
    • Education
    • Exclusive
    • Investigations
    • Security
  • Business
  • Opinions
    • Columns
      • Parting Shot
      • Two Sides of a Coin
      • Bazanye’s Quick Shots
      • Mable Twegumye Zake’s #BitsOfMe&You
      • But this Year!
  • Global
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • The Americas
  • East Africa
    • Burundi
    • Kenya
    • Rwanda
    • Tanzania
    • South Sudan
    • DR Congo
    • Ethiopia
    • Sudan
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
    • Health
      • Coronavirus outbreak
    • Tour & Travel
    • Love Therapist
    • Homes
    • Reviews
  • Tech
  • Special Reports
    • Kabaka Mutebi’s 25th Coronation Series
    • Focus on Somalia
    • Sino-Africa
    • Uganda at 56
    • Anti-Corruption Fight
    • Age Limit Map
    • Tuve Ku Kaveera
  • Sports
    • Place-It
    • StarTimes Uganda Premier League
    • Bundesliga
    • World Cup
  • Jobs
  • Archives
  • Live
No Results Found
View All Results
  • News
    • 2021 Elections Watch
      • The Election Podcast
    • Education
    • Exclusive
    • Investigations
    • Security
  • Business
  • Opinions
    • Columns
      • Parting Shot
      • Two Sides of a Coin
      • Bazanye’s Quick Shots
      • Mable Twegumye Zake’s #BitsOfMe&You
      • But this Year!
  • Global
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • The Americas
  • East Africa
    • Burundi
    • Kenya
    • Rwanda
    • Tanzania
    • South Sudan
    • DR Congo
    • Ethiopia
    • Sudan
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
    • Health
      • Coronavirus outbreak
    • Tour & Travel
    • Love Therapist
    • Homes
    • Reviews
  • Tech
  • Special Reports
    • Kabaka Mutebi’s 25th Coronation Series
    • Focus on Somalia
    • Sino-Africa
    • Uganda at 56
    • Anti-Corruption Fight
    • Age Limit Map
    • Tuve Ku Kaveera
  • Sports
    • Place-It
    • StarTimes Uganda Premier League
    • Bundesliga
    • World Cup
  • Jobs
  • Archives
  • Live
No Results Found
View All Results
Nile Post
No Results Found
View All Results

Congo Rebels Kill 15, Abduct Kids in Ebola Outbreak Region

Amon Katungulu by Amon Katungulu
October 22, 2018 at 8:04 am
in Africa, Health, News
Congo Rebels Kill 15, Abduct Kids in Ebola Outbreak Region

Congolese rebels killed 15 civilians and abducted a dozen children in an attack at the center of the latest deadly Ebola outbreak, Congo’s military said Sunday, as the violence again forced the suspension of crucial virus containment efforts.

“We condemn this attack,” said the World Health Organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, while a WHO regional official said it was “difficult to say how long” work would be affected.

Allied Democratic Forces rebels attacked Congolese army positions and several neighborhoods of Beni on Saturday and into Sunday, Capt. Mak Hazukay Mongha told The Associated Press. The U.N. peacekeeping mission said its troops exchanged fire with rebels in Beni’s Mayangose area.

Angry over the killings, residents carried four of the bodies to the town hall, where police dispersed them with tear gas. Vehicles of aid organizations and the peacekeeping mission were pelted with stones, the U.N.-backed Radio Okapi reported.

The ADF rebels have killed hundreds of civilians in recent years and are just one of several militias active in Congo’s far northeast.

Last month, Ebola containment efforts were suspended for days in Beni after a deadly attack, complicating work to track suspected contacts of infected people. Since then, many of the new confirmed Ebola cases have been reported in Beni and the rate of new cases overall has more than doubled, alarming aid groups.

Health efforts in recent weeks had been starting to show results, and this new attack “will bring us back,” Dr. Michel Yao, the WHO incident manager for Ebola in North Kivu province, told the AP. Colleagues’ work in Beni was suspended on Sunday as residents protested and “a few of our cars were broken,” he said.

“Tomorrow, we don’t know yet,” Yao said, noting that the day after an attack is usually for burials and can be very tense. “We understand. We are sympathetic. It’s not easy to lose relatives. At the same time, it could affect the (outbreak) response.”

The overnight attack came after two medical agents with the Congolese army were shot dead by another rebel group — the first time health workers have been killed in this outbreak.

It is a “dark day” for everyone fighting Ebola, Congo’s health minister said.

Mai Mai rebels surged from the forest and opened fire on the unarmed agents with the army’s rapid intervention medical unit outside Butembo city, the ministry said.

The daytime attack appeared premeditated, with civilians left unharmed, the statement said. The medical agents had been placed in “dangerous zones” to assist national border health officials.

Confirmed Ebola cases have now reached 200, including 117 deaths.

Health workers in this outbreak, declared on Aug. 1, have described hearing gunshots daily, operating under the armed escort of U.N. peacekeepers or Congolese security forces and ending work by sundown to lower the risk of attack.

Community resistance is also a problem, and Congo’s health ministry has reported “numerous aggressions” against health workers. Early this month two Red Cross volunteers were severely injured in a confrontation with wary residents in a region traumatized by decades of fighting and facing an Ebola outbreak for the first time.

“Health agents are not a target for armed groups,” Health Minister Oly Ilunga said. “Our agents will continue to go into the field each day to fulfill the mission entrusted to them. They are true heroes and we will continue to take all necessary measures so that they can do their job safely.”

On Wednesday, WHO said it was “deeply concerned” by the outbreak but announced it does not yet warrant being declared a global emergency. An outbreak must be “an extraordinary event” that might cross borders, requiring a coordinated response. Confirmed cases have been found near the heavily traveled border with Uganda.

In the latest example of the rumors that pose another serious challenge to containing the virus, the health ministry said 22 youth in Butembo dug up the body of an Ebola victim and opened the body bag, “wanting to verify that no organs had been taken from the body by health workers.”

They ended up touching highly infectious bodily fluids, the ministry said. “The next day, they agreed to be vaccinated,” joining the more than 20,000 people who have received vaccinations so far.

Tags: Congo RebelsCongolese armyEbolaEbola outbreakebola vaccinationWorld Health Organization

Related Posts

Guinea declares Ebola epidemic: First deaths since 2016
Africa

Guinea declares Ebola epidemic: First deaths since 2016

by NP admin
February 15, 2021
0

Guinea has officially declared that it is dealing with an Ebola epidemic after the deaths of at least three people...

Read more
DR Congo to vaccinate against Ebola after two deaths

DR Congo to vaccinate against Ebola after two deaths

February 12, 2021
A new case of Ebola virus detected in DR Congo

A new case of Ebola virus detected in DR Congo

February 8, 2021
Mauritius COVID herbal

President insists on Covid cure drink as Mauritius infections spike

August 14, 2020
Ebola patient escapes from DRC clinic sparking fears of a resurgence

DR Congo records spike in new Ebola cases

July 20, 2020

Discussion about this post

Follow Us

  • 180.3k Fans
  • 166.2k Followers
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Latest

Metropole Hotel Kampala reopens after a year of renovations

Metropole Hotel Kampala reopens after a year of renovations

April 18, 2021
Museveni passes out 1143 UPDF cadet officers, air force pilots

Photos that made news this week

April 18, 2021
UN partners with Uganda Prisons to fight extremism in prisons

Opinion: Prisoners in Uganda live in filthy, unhealthy conditions

April 18, 2021
Muwema: Why legal services are essential during Covid-19 lockdown

Sexual offences to dominate Masaka appeals criminal session

April 18, 2021
Mckinstry is still Cranes’ Coach- FUFA dismisses sacking speculations

Mckinstry is still Cranes’ Coach- FUFA dismisses sacking speculations

April 18, 2021
cocacola-ad-safebodacocacola-ad-safebodacocacola-ad-safeboda

Featured

“You are misinformed“– Uganda blasts US government over report on human rights abuses
Featured

“You are misinformed“– Uganda blasts US government over report on human rights abuses

by Kenneth Kazibwe
April 18, 2021
0

The Ugandan government has rapped their counterparts from...

Police arrest Boda boda rider who transported gunman who shot dead Bugiri Imam

Opinion: Lamenting Archbishop Cyprian Lwanga’s death

April 18, 2021
Police to recruit 5000 more constables

Police promote 3097 officers to end five years of waiting

April 17, 2021
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
Call us: +256-417-720-101

© 2020 Nile Post Uganda Ltd. - A Next Media Services Company.

No Results Found
View All Results
  • News
    • 2021 Elections Watch
      • The Election Podcast
    • Education
    • Exclusive
    • Investigations
    • Security
  • Business
  • Opinions
    • Columns
      • Parting Shot
      • Two Sides of a Coin
      • Bazanye’s Quick Shots
      • Mable Twegumye Zake’s #BitsOfMe&You
      • But this Year!
  • Global
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • The Americas
  • East Africa
    • Burundi
    • Kenya
    • Rwanda
    • Tanzania
    • South Sudan
    • DR Congo
    • Ethiopia
    • Sudan
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
    • Health
      • Coronavirus outbreak
    • Tour & Travel
    • Love Therapist
    • Homes
    • Reviews
  • Tech
  • Special Reports
    • Kabaka Mutebi’s 25th Coronation Series
    • Focus on Somalia
    • Sino-Africa
    • Uganda at 56
    • Anti-Corruption Fight
    • Age Limit Map
    • Tuve Ku Kaveera
  • Sports
    • Place-It
    • StarTimes Uganda Premier League
    • Bundesliga
    • World Cup
  • Jobs
  • Archives
  • Live

© 2020 Nile Post Uganda Ltd. - A Next Media Services Company.