An armed raid in Cantine, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, burned homes and health facilities and disrupted Ebola monitoring. A hospital director said 180 patients fled, including one confirmed Ebola patient and suspected cases. Local officials blamed the Allied Democratic Forces. The displacement has interrupted care in a province already affected by the outbreak.
Armed men attacked Cantine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo during the night of November 5–6, burning homes and health facilities. The settlement lies in North Kivu province, roughly 50 kilometers west of Beni. Residents fled the area during an ongoing Ebola response. Local civil society representative Tchetche Aliamini described damaged pharmacies and health posts as well as burned houses.[1], [2]
Christian Kakule, medical director of the Kelekele Hospital Centre in Cantine, said 180 patients fled, including people suspected of having Ebola and one confirmed patient. High-risk contacts and others under monitoring also left, he said. Kakule described gunfire and houses burning as close as 50 meters from the hospital. He warned that probable cases outside monitoring could become sources of transmission.[1]
Beni territorial administrator Colonel Charles Omeonga and local civil society representatives blamed the Allied Democratic Forces, an armed group originating in Uganda that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2019. Responsibility remains attributed to those officials and witnesses. North Kivu is already one of the provinces most affected by the country’s Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, after Ituri. It also experienced earlier Ebola outbreaks, including the 2018–2020 epidemic.[1]
