Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Monday 22 october 2018

Deadly attack amid Ebola outbreak stalls containment efforts

By AL-HADJI KUDRA MALIRO to fulfill the mission entrust-
CARA ANNA ed to them," Health Minister
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Oly Ilunga said. "They are
Congolese rebels killed 15 true heroes, and we will
civilians and abducted a continue to take all neces-
dozen children in an attack sary measures so that they
at the epicenter of the lat- can do their job safely."
est deadly Ebola outbreak, On Wednesday, WHO said
Congo's military said Sun- it was "deeply concerned"
day, as the violence again by the outbreak but that it
forced crucial virus-con- does not yet warrant being
tainment efforts to be sus- declared a global emer-
pended. gency. An outbreak must
"It will be very hard to stop be "an extraordinary event"
the outbreak if this violence that might cross borders,
continues," said the World requiring a coordinated
Health Organization's response. Confirmed cases
emergencies chief, Peter have been found near the
Salama. heavily traveled border
A regional WHO official told with Uganda.
The Associated Press that it In the latest example of the
was difficult to say how long rumors that pose another
work would be affected. serious challenge to con-
Confirmed Ebola cases taining the virus, the health
have reached 202 in this ministry said 22 young peo-
outbreak, including 118 ple in Butembo dug up an
deaths. Ebola victim and opened
Allied Democratic Forces In this photo taken Friday, Oct 5, 2018, family members and onlookers mourn over the bodies of the body bag to verify that
rebels attacked Congolese civilian killed by The Allied Democratic Forces rebels in Beni, Eastern Congo. health workers had not tak-
army positions and several Associated Press en organs from the body.
neighborhoods of Beni on They ended up touching
Saturday and into Sunday, hundreds of civilians in re- ed on Sunday and "tomor- health ministry said. highly infectious bodily flu-
Capt. Mak Hazukay Mon- cent years and are just one row, we don't know yet," Health workers in this out- ids, the ministry said. "The
gha told the AP. The U.N. of several militias active in Yao said, noting that the break, declared on Aug. next day, they agreed to
peacekeeping mission said Congo's far northeast. burials of victims can be 1, have described hearing be vaccinated," joining the
its troops exchanged fire Another deadly attack last tense. "We understand. We gunshots daily, operating more than 20,000 people
with rebels in Beni's Mayan- month in Beni forced the are sympathetic. It's not under the armed escort of who have received vacci-
gose area. suspension of Ebola-con- easy to lose relatives. At the U.N. peacekeepers or Con- nations so far.q
Angry over the killings, resi- tainment efforts for days, same time, it could affect golese security forces and
dents carried four of the complicating work to track the (outbreak) response." ending work by sundown
bodies to the town hall, suspected contacts of in- The attack came after to lower the risk of attack.
where police dispersed fected people. Since then, two medical agents with Community resistance is
them with tear gas. While many of the new con- the Congolese army were also a problem, and Con-
some health workers took firmed Ebola cases have shot dead by another reb- go's health ministry has re-
refuge in a local hospital, been reported in Beni, and el group — the first time ported "numerous aggres-
the protesters destroyed the rate of new cases over- health workers have been sions" against health work-
a number of government all has more than doubled, killed in this outbreak. ers. Early this month, two
buildings and blocked all alarming aid groups. Congo's health minister Red Cross volunteers were
traffic, Congo's health min- Health efforts in recent called it a "dark day" for ev- severely injured in a con-
istry said. weeks had started to show eryone fighting Ebola. frontation with wary resi-
Vehicles of aid organiza- results, and this new attack Mai Mai rebels surged from dents in a region trauma-
tions and the U.N. mission "will bring us back," Dr. Mi- the forest and opened fire tized by decades of fight-
were pelted with stones, chel Yao, WHO's incident on the unarmed agents ing and facing an Ebola
the U.N.-backed Radio manager for Ebola in North with the army's rapid in- outbreak for the first time.
Okapi reported. Kivu province, told the AP. tervention medical unit "Our agents will continue to
The ADF rebels have killed Work in Beni was suspend- outside Butembo city, the go into the field each day