Local youth set fire to an Ebola treatment center in Rwampara, a town at the heart of the outbreak in eastern Congo on May 21

Health workers had stopped the arsonists from retrieving the body of their friend who died of the disease, to ensure proper burial of the deceased by health workers covered by protective gear

The Ebola virus has been spreading for weeks in a region ravaged by armed conflict, lacking adequate health facilities

Arson attack reflects the challenges of health workers and aid agencies face trying to curb the Ebola variant by instituting stringent measures that might clash with local customs, such as burial rites

Thursday’s fire which destroyed an Ebola treatment center in Rwampara, a town at the heart of a new Ebola outbreak in the eastern region of Democratic Republic of Congo, (DRC), has been attributed to local youth angry after being stopped from retrieving the body of their friend ho died from the deadly disease

The fear and grew over an exploding health crisis in an east African country grew after people set fire to an Ebola treatment center in Rwampara, a town at the heart of the outbreak in eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on Thursday.
The arsonists dad been stopped from retrieving the body of a local man by health officials a witness and a senior police officer said.
According to a witness, 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,
“The police intervened to try to calm the situation, but unfortunately, they were unsuccessful,” said locals.
“The young people ended up setting fire to the center. That’s the situation.
”They were seen breaking into the center and setting fire to objects inside, while what appeared to be the body of at least one suspected Ebola victim that was being stored there, after which Aid workers fled the treatment center in vehicles.
Deputy Senior Police 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, clarifying that “All bodies must be buried according to the regulations.”

The Ebola Treatment Center in Rwampara, Congo, was razed on May 21. Images from the scene show charred hospital beds stand in a smoldering ruins of the arson attack

Army and security personnel guard the scene of a fire at the Ebola Treatment Center of Rwampara, eastern Congo to prevent further unrest on Thursday, May 21, 2026

Calm had been restored, according to Hama Amadou, field coordinator for the humanitarian organization [ALIMA], which had teams working at the center, who said later the aid teams were continuing their work at the center.
However, the arson attack in Rwampara reflects the challenges faced by doctors and health workers struggling to contain this new variant of the Ebola virus by deploying stringent measures. Preventive measures that might clash with local customs, such as burial rites.
The virulent disease has been spreading for weeks in a region of the DRC overrun by rebels where many people are on the move to escape armed conflicts.
While the now isolated region lacks adequate health facilities, the fight against the spread of Ebola is challenged by the growing piling volume of the bodies, as the spread of the highly contagious disease can accelerate as people prepare bodies for burial and gather for funerals.
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.
To combat potential spread, the dangerous work of burying suspected victims is being managed wherever possible by authorities. However, those measures often runs headlong into resistance from victims’ families and friends.

Health officials fighting spread of the highly contagious virus insist burial of victims should be handled by Medical staff wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). This new regulation however, clashes with local burial rites which experts could accelerate spread

The flash of anger underlined the complications faced by both Congolese authorities and the multiple global aid agencies involved in the fight against an outbreak has prompted the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency of international concern.
Published figures by authorities in Congo on May 21, lists 160 suspected deaths and 671 suspected cases in two provinces, Congolese authorities said on Thursday. Earlier in the week, the U.N. said there were two cases, including one death in neighboring Uganda.
On the other hand, the WHO has said the outbreak is almost certainly much larger. The agency also expresses 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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “I expect the number of cases to increase as surveillance becomes more and more rigorous.”
The World Health Organization believes the risk of the outbreak spreading globally is low, with a high likelihood of being a regional occurrence, where the Ituri Province which borders Uganda and South Sudan, at the center of the outbreak,

Patients suspected to be infected with the virus continued to arrive at the hospital as Army and security personnel kept locals at bay during the inferno

Armed conflict in the region further complicates efforts to handle the crisis. There are over 920,000 internally displaced people in Ituri Province, according to the U.N. As recently as Tuesday, local leaders said, militants linked to the Islamic State group killed at least 17 people in Alima, a village in Ituri.
The region’s already weak health infrastructure and surveillance capacity have been further weakened by international aid cuts.
Those conditions create a hurdle for the process of early detection and containment of the virus, which is the key in saving lives.
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.

Health workers in protective suits interacting with residents during Ebola response operations in DRC. The scale of the outbreak so far suggests it “started probably a couple of months ago,” – WHO

Health worker at a hospital disinfect bedding to prevent spread of Ebola, a highly contagious virus which spreads through contact with victims as well as surfaces contaminated by bodily excretions

A disturbing new development is the revelation that the deadly disease 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, about 310 miles south of the outbreak’s epicenter 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 neighboring 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 Anaïs Legand, a viral hemorrhagic fevers expert at the WHO.