At least 33 people have been killed in an overnight attack on a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where armed men also set homes and a health post on fire and forced patients, including people with confirmed and suspected Ebola, to flee. Local officials blamed the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group that Islamic State recognises as an affiliate.
The attack hit Cantine, a village about 50 kilometres west of the town of Beni in North Kivu province. It comes as the country battles what Al Jazeera describes as the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record, raising fears that the violence could make the epidemic harder to contain.
How the attack unfolded
According to Reuters, the assault began at about 11pm local time on Thursday, November 5, and continued into Friday. Rescuers recovered 33 bodies. Most of the victims had gunshot wounds, while others were burned or hacked with machetes, Reuters reported, citing local sources.
Beni territorial administrator Colonel Charles Omeonga blamed the ADF and said several houses had been burned. He told Reuters that heavy rain had slowed army operations, so a final death toll could not yet be confirmed. Tchetche Aliamini, a local civil society leader, also put the number of dead at 33.
Justin Paluku, who heads a local civil society group, told the Associated Press that more than 50 houses were set ablaze. He said the attackers had got past security forces deployed in the area, calling it “a major security failure,” Al Jazeera reported.
Ebola patients scattered
The attackers also set fire to a health post. Christian Kakule, medical director of the Kelekele Hospital Centre in Cantine, said patients fled during the raid. Reuters reported that those who ran included one confirmed Ebola patient and five suspected cases, three of whom were high-risk contacts. Al Jazeera, citing the same doctor, said about 180 patients left the hospital in total, among them the confirmed and suspected Ebola cases.
Health experts warn that when patients and their contacts scatter, it becomes much harder to trace and isolate people who may be infectious. Many villagers also fled to other parts of North Kivu, Al Jazeera reported, which could carry the virus to new communities.
A record Ebola outbreak
The DRC is fighting an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, centred on neighbouring Ituri province. North Kivu now accounts for around half of new infections. Figures cited by the two outlets differ slightly: Al Jazeera, quoting the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, put the national toll at more than 10,000 cases and 5,300 deaths, while Reuters reported more than 10,000 cases and 5,000 deaths.
North Kivu has been at the centre of earlier Ebola epidemics, including the 2018–2020 outbreak, when attacks by armed groups repeatedly disrupted vaccination and treatment work around Beni and Butembo.
Who are the ADF?
The ADF began as a Ugandan rebel movement in the 1990s before moving into the forests of eastern Congo. It pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2019 and has since been blamed for thousands of civilian deaths in North Kivu and Ituri, often in night-time raids on remote villages. Congolese and Ugandan forces have carried out joint operations against the group since 2021, but attacks have continued.
What happens next
Congolese security forces were reported to be patrolling the area after the raid, and officials say the death toll may rise once searches resume. Health workers are expected to try to trace the patients and contacts who fled so they can be monitored and treated.
The attack adds to pressure on Kinshasa and its partners to protect civilians and health workers in the east, where dozens of armed groups operate. For the wider region, including West Africa, the outbreak remains a public health concern, and Nigeria’s health authorities have previously stepped up screening at entry points during Ebola outbreaks in Central Africa.
Sources: Al Jazeera (with AP and Reuters), Reuters via TimesLIVE.
