Angry Men Storm Ebola Hospital Seeking Bodies of Loved Ones

Angry men stormed a hospital treating Ebola patients in eastern Congo on Sunday, forcing staff to evacuate as gunfire rang out. The incident marks the third attack on Ebola treatment facilities in just a week.

The attackers stormed Mongbwalu General Hospital, demanding the bodies of two relatives. Medical director Dr Richard Lokudu confirmed the assault to the Associated Press, saying it was not yet clear whether anyone was injured.

The latest violence comes just a day after residents set fire to a Doctors Without Borders treatment tent in Mongbwalu, forcing 18 suspected patients to flee the facility. That incident itself followed another attack earlier in the week, when a treatment centre in Rwampara was burnt down after families were denied access to the body of a suspected Ebola victim.

In response to the growing unrest and continued spread of the virus, authorities have since banned funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people in northeastern Congo, as bodies of those who died of Ebola can be highly contagious.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has also confirmed that 3 of its volunteers have died after contracting the virus while handling bodies in Mongbwalu.

Meanwhile, the outbreak continues to escalate, with the Congolese Ministry of Communication reporting 904 suspected cases of Ebola, a sharp rise from the more than 700 previously recorded. Death toll figures also remain unclear, with official totals ranging between 119 and 220.

The World Health Organisation has raised Congo’s risk level to “very high”, although it says the likelihood of global spread remains low.