Protesters set Ebola treatment center ablaze (VIDEOS)

Six patients who fled during the unrest have been found and are receiving treatment, DR Congo’s government spokesman has said

Protesters have set fire to an Ebola treatment center in conflict-torn eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo after being prevented from taking the body of a suspected victim for burial, according to officials.

The incident occurred on Thursday in Rwampara, Ituri Province, one of the epicenters of the latest outbreak. Footage shared on social media and purportedly filmed at the scene show flames and smoke rising from the facility, while gunshots can be heard nearby.

A witness told AP that local youths became angry after trying to retrieve the body of a friend believed to have died of Ebola. Police intervened but reportedly failed to defuse the situation, the witness said. An AP journalist reported seeing people enter the center and setting objects on fire, along with what appeared to be the body of at least one suspected Ebola victim. Aid workers fled in vehicles.

Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said six patients who were reported missing during the unrest were found and are receiving care at Rwampara General Referral Hospital.

“In the confusion, fearing for their safety, six patients were no longer visible,” Muyaya wrote on X. Security measures have been reinforced, and calm returned to the facility, he added, urging residents to follow the instructions of Ebola response teams.

The authorities say the bodies of suspected Ebola victims must be handled under strict burial protocols because they can remain highly infectious.