Armed men kill at least 33 in village in Ebola-hit eastern DRC

Armed men believed by local authorities and civil society leaders to belong to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) raided Cantine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 33 people and burning more than 50 houses. The attack also set fire to a health post, forcing patients to flee amid an Ebola outbreak and raising fears that displaced suspected cases could spread the disease.

Cantine is about 50km west of Beni in North Kivu, which accounts for almost half of new infections in the DRC’s Bundibugyo outbreak. A hospital medical director said 180 patients fled, including people suspected of having Ebola and one confirmed case, as well as high-risk contacts under monitoring. The ADF pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2019 and has repeatedly attacked civilians in the region; Africa CDC figures cited in the article record more than 10,000 Ebola cases and 5,300 deaths across the DRC.