Rebel attacks around the town of Beni, one of the epicenters of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have left more than 30 people dead over the past few days, complicating the response to the disease.

At least 10 people were massacred in raids on three villages around Beni in North Kivu province early Wednesday morning. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militia affiliated with Islamic State, has been blamed for the attacks on the villages of Matété, Mamuli, and Kitoho in eastern DRC.

Community leader Isaac Kavalami reported approximately 10 deaths, with motorcycles and homes set ablaze, and civilians kidnapped. As of Wednesday, 344 cases and 60 deaths have been recorded in the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri provinces.

Just before midnight on Saturday, the militia entered Beni, which has been under DRC military administration since 2021. People were beheaded and shot in the attack, causing widespread panic and sending hundreds fleeing into the bush. More than 20 men, women, and children were reported killed, with dozens missing, according to witnesses.

Beni resident Mumbere Sivya said: "As we were getting ready for bed, we heard people screaming for help. It was an attack carried out by the ADF. We fled our homes in a panic. Unfortunately, in the morning we realized our neighbors had been beheaded."

The ADF has stepped up attacks on civilians and the Congolese army in the Beni region. Civil society organizations say about 10,000 civilians have been killed by the armed group since 2014.

The military governor of North Kivu stated on Tuesday that three patients confirmed to have Ebola had fled treatment centers in Beni after Saturday's attacks. The raids and fear have complicated efforts to deal with the 17th Ebola epidemic to hit the DRC since the virus was first identified in 1976.

Civil society activist Albert Lusenge commented: "Ebola kills, but not by decapitation. We are losing loved ones as a result of the ADF's atrocities. It is a bitter pill to swallow." He noted that it will be difficult to convince the population to support the fight against Ebola when they are already devastated by the ADF's activities.

Researcher Reagan Miviri explained: "The killings of civilians serve as a military deterrent. The ADF moves in small groups in forested regions, evading army surveillance. Military operations aim to push the ADF away from the Ugandan border, but civilians continue to be killed."

The Kinshasa government confirmed the ADF was behind the killings and condemned them. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that insecurity in the DRC is seriously hampering the Ebola response, warning that isolating patients and building community trust are impossible "while bombs are falling."

Source: www.theguardian.com