Hospital stormed amid Congo Ebola crisis
May 26 2026
Armed and angry young men stormed a hospital treating Ebola patients in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday night, forcing terrified medical workers to evacuate patients as gunfire echoed through the area, according to hospital officials.
The attack targeted the Mongbwalu General Hospital in Ituri Province, one of the epicenters of the country’s worsening Ebola outbreak. Dr. Richard Lokudu, the hospital’s medical director, told the Associated Press that the attackers demanded the bodies of two deceased relatives believed to have died from the virus.
Authorities have not confirmed whether anyone was injured during the assault, but the incident marks the latest in a string of violent attacks on Ebola treatment facilities in the region. Health workers reportedly scrambled to move patients and staff to safety while the situation unfolded.
The violence comes amid growing tensions between local communities and health authorities over strict Ebola burial protocols.
Because Ebola victims remain highly contagious after death, Congolese officials have banned families from handling bodies and restricted large funeral gatherings in an attempt to slow the spread of the disease.
Just days earlier, residents reportedly burned an Ebola isolation tent operated by humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders in Mongbwalu, while another treatment center in Rwampara was also torched following disputes over burial procedures. During one of the attacks, at least 18 suspected Ebola patients fled the facility and remained unaccounted for.
The World Health Organization has since classified the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern.
Officials say more than 900 suspected Ebola cases have been recorded in eastern Congo, with suspected deaths ranging above 100 as health teams struggle to contain the rapidly spreading Bundibugyo strain a rare form of Ebola that currently has no approved vaccine or treatment.
The outbreak has already spread beyond Congo’s borders, with neighboring Uganda confirming several linked infections. Health experts warn that ongoing violence, distrust of authorities, and attacks on medical facilities are severely undermining efforts to contain the deadly virus.
