On Thursday, residents in eastern Congo set fire to an Ebola treatment center after being denied access to retrieve the body of a local man.

The incident, confirmed by a witness and a senior police officer, underscores the escalating fear and resentment surrounding the health crisis that medical professionals are struggling to contain, News.Az reports, citing The Independent.

This act of arson in Rwampara starkly illustrates the immense challenges faced by health workers. Their stringent measures, crucial for curbing the rare Ebola virus, frequently clash with deeply ingrained local customs, particularly traditional burial rites.

The disease has been spreading for weeks across a region already grappling with inadequate health facilities and widespread displacement due to armed conflict.

Authorities are compelled to manage the burials of suspected victims wherever possible, as the bodies of those who succumb to Ebola remain highly contagious.

This policy aims to prevent further transmission, which often occurs when communities prepare bodies for burial and gather for funerals.

However, this vital public health strategy is proving deeply unpopular with grieving families and friends, who are denied the opportunity to perform traditional rites for their loved ones.

The Rwampara centre was reportedly set alight by local youths, enraged after being stopped from retrieving the body of a friend believed to have died from Ebola, according to an eyewitness who spoke to The Associated Press.

“The police intervened to try to calm the situation, but unfortunately they were unsuccessful,” said Alexis Burata, a local student who said he was in the area. "The young people ended up setting fire to the center. That’s the situation.”

An AP journalist saw people break into the center and set fire to objects inside and also to what appeared to be the body of at least one suspected Ebola victim that was being stored there. Aid workers fled the treatment center in vehicles.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli