Nyankunde Hospital, located in Irumu Territory, Ituri Province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which houses an Ebola treatment center, was attacked by armed individuals.
The attack took place on the evening of Wednesday, July 15, with information from civil society organizations in Irumu Territory indicating that the attackers opened fire on the hospital and set fire to some of the buildings used to care for Ebola patients.
Following the attack, several humanitarian organizations immediately withdrew from the area due to security concerns and fears of further attacks.
This is not the first time that Ebola treatment centers have been targeted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In the past, some community members have attacked such facilities demanding that their relatives infected with Ebola be released and taken home so that families could care for them.
There have also been incidents where people attacked teams responsible for carrying out safe burials of Ebola victims, which are conducted to prevent the spread of the disease. Some residents demanded the right to bury their loved ones according to their traditional customs.
It has been two months since the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak was reported in the DRC. Government figures indicate that the 17th Ebola outbreak has so far killed more than 700 people out of over 2,000 confirmed infections.
