WHO resumes DRC ebola fight

– Efforts to fight a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s restive eastern Beni region have resumed after a brief suspension following clashes, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday.

“On Sunday, all activities have re-launched, including vaccination,” the UN health agency said in a statement.

DR Congo’s health ministry had announced a suspension of operations in Beni after deadly clashes erupted on Friday just a “few metres” from a local emergency centre and the hotels of several response teams.

UN peacekeepers from the Monusco mission had repelled an offensive by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militia in Boikene neighbourhood, a ministry statement said.

The ADF, a shadowy armed group that has killed hundreds since 2014 and seven peacekeepers in clashes last week, wanted to “attack one of Monusco’s bases”, the statement added.

WHO said that all the health workers involved in the Ebola response were safe, but said 16 of its staff in Beni had been temporarily evacuated to Goma for psychological care after the building they were staying in was hit by a shell that did not explode.

Michel Yao, WHO’s coordinator for Ebola response operations in Beni, said it remained unclear where the shell came from. –

Geneva