Heavily armed assailants attacked an Ebola treatment center in the heart of eastern Congo's deadly outbreak Saturday, while frightened patients waited in isolation rooms for the gunfire to end.
Health workers are seen through a bullet hole left in the window of an Ebola treatment center attacked early Saturday in Butembo in eastern Congo, resulting in the death of a police officer.
Security forces Saturday repelled the attackers, one of whom was wounded, Butembo Mayor Sylvain Kanyamanda said. Congo's health ministry said in a statement that forces had surrounded the center after being tipped to a possible assault,"saving many lives." Some community members wary of outsiders after years of deadly rebel attacks have shown hostility to health workers in a region that is facing its first Ebola outbreak. Misunderstandings have been high, especially over the need to conduct safe burials, a sensitive issue. Ebola, a hemorrhagic fever, is spread via bodily fluids of those infected, including the dead.
To conquer Ebola,"we must strike a delicate balance between providing accessible care, maintaining the neutrality of the response, and protecting patients and staff from attacks by armed groups," the WHO chief said Saturday. The ministry, which last Sunday tweeted a photo of smiling workers reopening the Butembo treatment center, says 854 Ebola cases have been confirmed since this outbreak was declared Aug. 1, including 578 deaths.
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