{"id":811,"date":"2026-05-21T16:53:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T16:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/?p=811"},"modified":"2026-05-21T16:53:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T16:53:01","slug":"residents-burn-an-ebola-center-in-congo-as-fear-and-anger-grow-over-the-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/?p=811","title":{"rendered":"Residents burn an Ebola center in Congo as fear and anger grow over the outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"

A woman mourns her child, who died of Ebola, at the General Hospital in Bunia, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo\/Moses Sawasawa)<\/small><\/p>\n

2026-05-21T10:47:38Z<\/p>\n

BUNIA, Congo (AP) \u2014 People set fire to an Ebola<\/a><\/span> treatment center in a town at the heart of the outbreak in eastern Congo<\/a><\/span> on Thursday after being stopped from retrieving the body of a local man, a witness and a senior police officer said, as fear and anger grow over a health crisis that doctors are struggling to contain.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The arson attack in Rwampara reflects the challenges of health workers trying to curb a rare Ebola virus<\/a><\/span> 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 armed conflict has displaced many people.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

That policy can be extremely unpopular with victims\u2019 families and friends, who aren\u2019t given the chance to bury their loved ones.<\/p>\n

Fear and anger grow<\/h2>\n

The center 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe police intervened to try to calm the situation, but unfortunately they were unsuccessful,\u201d said Alexis Burata, a local student who said he was in the area. \u201cThe young people ended up setting fire to the center. That\u2019s the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

An AP journalist saw people break into the center 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 center in vehicles. <\/p>\n

Deputy Senior Commissioner Jean Claude Mukendi, head of the public security department, Ituri Province, said it was due to youths who didn\u2019t understand the protocols required for burying suspected Ebola victims.<\/p>\n

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