KINSHASA, Congo — Medical workers at a Congo hospital scrambled to evacuate Ebola patients Sunday night after furious men broke into the facility demanding the remains of deceased relatives, amid sounds of gunfire in the surrounding area.
The assault on Monbgwalu General Hospital left casualties unknown, according to Dr. Richard Lokudu, the facility’s medical director, who spoke with The Associated Press. The intruders insisted on receiving two bodies of family members who had died.
“There was gunfire and the medics were trying to evacuate the patients and the staff,” Lokudu explained during a phone interview.
“Monbgwalu General Hospital is on general alert,” he stated, noting he lacked additional information about the developing crisis.
This incident represents the third assault in seven days targeting medical centers where healthcare workers battle limited resources while treating potential Ebola patients, highlighting the difficulties surrounding this outbreak that the World Health Organization has labeled a public health emergency of international concern.
Remains of Ebola victims carry extreme infection risks and can trigger additional transmission when families handle burial preparations and hold funeral ceremonies.
Congo’s government has ordered that burial procedures for suspected victims be handled by officials when feasible, a policy that has sparked resistance from grieving families and communities. Friday brought new restrictions as authorities prohibited funeral gatherings and assemblies exceeding 50 people across northeastern Congo to limit viral transmission.
Saturday saw Mongbwalu residents attack and burn down a tent facility established by Doctors Without Borders for treating suspected and confirmed Ebola patients.
That assault resulted in 18 individuals with suspected infections fleeing the site, with their current whereabouts unknown, Lokudu had reported previously.
Thursday witnessed another treatment facility destroyed by fire in Rwampara after relatives were prohibited from claiming a local man’s body who allegedly died from Ebola.
The World Health Organization has elevated the outbreak’s threat level to “very high” for Congo, upgrading from the previous “high” classification, while maintaining that global spread probability remains minimal.
Sunday morning brought updated figures from Congo’s Ministry of Communication via X, reporting 904 suspected Ebola cases, predominantly in northeastern Ituri Province — a substantial increase from the previously reported total exceeding 700 suspected infections.
The ministry listed total suspected Ebola fatalities at 119, though regional breakdowns totaled 220 deaths. Officials were unavailable to clarify this numerical inconsistency.
No vaccine exists for the Bundibugyo virus, an uncommon Ebola strain that circulated undetected for weeks throughout Ituri after the initial reported death in late April in Bunia, the provincial capital, while authorities tested unsuccessfully for a more prevalent Ebola variant.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies announced Saturday that three volunteers had perished from the outbreak in Mongbwalu. The organization believes these healthcare workers became infected March 27 while handling corpses during a humanitarian operation unconnected to Ebola.
If verified, this information would dramatically alter the outbreak’s established timeline.
