Angry crowd sets Ebola hospital tents on fire in DR Congo

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Angry crowd sets Ebola hospital tents on fire in DR Congo1 hour ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleEmery MakumenoBBC Africa, KinshasaReutersThe unrest highlights the struggle authorities face as cases of the virus riseAn angry crowd set alight a section of a hospital at the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after family and friends of a young man thought to have died from the virus were prevented from taking his body away for burial. "They started throwing projectiles at the hospital. They even set fire to tents that were being used as isolation wards," local politician Luc Malembe Malembe told the about the scene he witnessed at Rwampara General Hospital.

In the chaos, police fired warning shots to disperse the crowd. The body of a dead Ebola victim is highly infectious and the authorities need to ensure safe burial to stop the spread of the virus. Medical workers at the Rwampara hospital, located near the city of Bunia in Ituri province, where almost all of the cases have been reported, were placed under military protection as the police moved in to restore order.

The Details

A healthcare worker was injured by stone-throwing protesters before law enforcement agents intervened, a hospital worker told the news agency. The man who died was a popular figure in the local community and those upset by his death did not "grasp the reality of the disease," Jean Claude Mukendi, who is co-ordinating the security response to Ebola in Ituri, told the Associated Press. Witnesses told the young man was a footballer who had played with several local teams.

His mother told the news agency she believed her son had died of typhoid fever, not Ebola. What is Ebola and why is stopping the latest outbreak so difficult? 'Ebola has tortured us': Fear grips eastern DR Congo as deadly virus spreadsMalembe said the crowd did not believe the virus, which has so far killed more than 130 in eastern DR Congo, was real.

"People are not properly informed or sensitised about what is happening. For a certain segment of the population, especially in remote areas, Ebola is an invention by outsiders - it does not exist," the politician said. "They believe it is the NGOs and hospitals creating this to make money, and this is tragic.

What Experts Say

"He said two tents had been burned down, along with a body that had been due to be buried. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends "safe and dignified burials" for Ebola victims, with trained teams using protective equipment to handle bodies. Six patients had been receiving treatment in the tents on the grounds of the hospital - and it was reported they may have fled in the mayhem.

But according to the medical charity Alima, which reportedly ran the tents, they are all accounted for and "are currently being cared for at the hospital".

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.