Rebels kill 15, imperiling Ebola containment drive

JOHANNESBURG — Congolese rebels killed 15 civilians and abducted a dozen children in an attack at the center of the latest deadly Ebola outbreak, Congo’s military said Sunday, as the violence again forced the suspension of crucial virus containment efforts.

“We condemn this attack,” said the World Health Organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, while a WHO regional official said it was “difficult to say how long” work would be affected.

Allied Democratic Forces rebels attacked Congolese army positions and several neighborhoods of Beni on Saturday and into Sunday, said Capt. Mak Hazukay Mongha. The U.N. peacekeeping mission said its troops exchanged fire with rebels in Beni’s Mayangose area.

The ADF rebels have killed hundreds of civilians in recent years and are just one of several militias active in Congo’s far northeast.

Last month, Ebola containment efforts were suspended for days in Beni after a deadly attack, complicating work to track suspected contacts of infected people. Since then, many of the new confirmed Ebola cases have been reported in Beni and the rate of new cases overall has more than doubled, alarming aid groups.

Health efforts in recent weeks had been starting to show results, and this new attack “will bring us back,” said Dr. Michel Yao, the WHO incident manager for Ebola in North Kivu province.

The overnight attack came after two medical agents with the Congolese army were shot dead by another rebel group — the first time health workers have been killed in this outbreak. It was a “dark day” for everyone fighting Ebola, Congo’s health minister said.

Mai Mai rebels surged from the forest and opened fire on the unarmed agents with the army’s rapid intervention medical unit outside Butembo city, the ministry said.

The daytime attack appeared premeditated, with civilians left unharmed, the statement said. The medical agents had been placed in “dangerous zones” to assist national border health officials.

Confirmed Ebola cases have now reached 202, including 118 deaths.

Health workers in this outbreak, declared on Aug. 1, have described hearing gunshots daily, operating under the armed escort of U.N. peacekeepers or Congolese security forces and ending work by sundown to lower the risk of attack.

Community resistance is also a problem, and Congo’s health ministry has reported “numerous aggressions” against health workers. Early this month two Red Cross volunteers were severely injured in a confrontation with wary residents.