An Ebola treatment centre in eastern Congo was set on fire by angry youths after authorities stopped them from retrieving the body of a suspected Ebola victim for burial. The incident highlights growing fear, mistrust and resistance to strict health protocols as officials struggle to contain the fast-spreading outbreak
Published Date – 22 May 2026, 12:28 AM
Bunia (Congo): People set fire to an Ebola treatment centre in a town at the heart of the outbreak in eastern Congo on Thursday after being stopped from retrieving the body of a local man, a senior police officer said, as fear and anger grow over a health crisis that doctors are struggling to contain.
The arson attack in Rwampara reflects the challenges of health workers trying to curb a rare Ebola virus by using stringent measures that might clash with local customs, such as burial rites.
The disease has been spreading for weeks in a region lacking in health facilities and where many people are on the move to escape armed conflicts.
The dangerous work of burying suspected victims is being managed wherever possible by authorities because the bodies of those who die from Ebola can be highly contagious and lead to further spread when people prepare bodies for burial and gather for funerals.
That policy can be extremely unpopular with victims’ families and friends, who aren’t given the chance to bury their loved ones.
Fear and anger grow
The centre in Rwampara was burned by local youths who became angry while trying to retrieve the body of a friend who had apparently died of Ebola, according to a witness who spoke to The Associated Press by telephone.
“The police intervened to try to calm the situation, but unfortunately they were unsuccessful,” said Alexis Burata, a local student who said he was in the area. “The young people ended up setting fire to the centre. That’s the situation.” An AP journalist saw people break into the centre and set fire to objects inside and also to what appeared to be the body of at least one suspected Ebola victim that was being stored there. Aid workers fled the treatment centre in vehicles.
Deputy Senior Commissioner Jean Claude Mukendi, head of the public security department in Ituri Province, said the youths had not understood the protocols for burying a suspected Ebola victim.
“His family, friends, and other young people wanted to take his body home for a funeral even though the instructions from the authorities during this Ebola virus outbreak are clear,” Mukendi said. “All bodies must be buried according to the regulations.” Hama Amadou, field coordinator for the humanitarian organisation ALIMA, which had teams working at the centre, said later that calm had been restored and that aid teams were continuing their work at the centre.
The flash of anger underlined the complications faced by both Congolese authorities and an array of aid agencies trying to stem an outbreak that the World Health Organisation has declared a public health emergency of international concern.
Outbreak bigger than official figures: WHO
There are 148 suspected deaths and nearly 600 suspected cases, according to the UN, with two cases including one death in neighbouring Uganda. But the head of the WHO has said the outbreak is almost certainly much larger and has also expressed concern over the speed of the spread.
“We are still in the phase where we are intensifying the investigation, searching for cases,” said Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. “I expect the number of cases to increase as surveillance becomes more and more rigorous.” The risk of the outbreak spreading globally is low, the WHO has said, but high regionally with the Ituri Province at the centre of the outbreak bordering Uganda and South Sudan.
Health workers and aid groups have said they are in dire need of more supplies and staff to respond. Also, there is no available vaccine or medicine for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak.
An expert said this week it would be at least six to nine months before one would be available.
“The priority now is to act quickly and work closely with communities, as the coming days are critical,” said Ariel Kestens, the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies delegation in Congo.
Ebola is highly contagious and spreads in people through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, feces or semen. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and at times internal and external bleeding.
Ebola disease is caused by a group of viruses. Three of them are known to cause large outbreaks: Ebola virus, Sudan virus and Bundibugyo virus, according to the WHO.
The Bundibugyo virus was first identified in a 2007-2008 outbreak in Uganda. This is the largest known outbreak of that species of Ebola.
It has spread to a new province
On Thursday, the M23 rebel group that controls parts of eastern Congo reported that a person had died of the disease near the city of Bukavu, some 500 kilometres south of the outbreak’s epicentre in Ituri Province.
It was the first case confirmed in South Kivu Province, and another case was reported there later in the day. Previously, cases had been reported only in Ituri and North Kivu provinces and in neighbouring Uganda.
The virus spread undetected for weeks following the first known death in late April as Congolese health authorities tested for a different Ebola virus more commonly responsible for outbreaks in the country. Health officials have not yet found “patient zero,” according to the WHO.
The scale of the outbreak so far suggests it “started probably a couple of months ago,” said Anais Legand, a viral hemorrhagic fevers expert at the WHO.
