BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Islamic State-linked militants raided a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 33 civilians and forcing patients with confirmed and suspected Ebola infections to flee, authorities said on Friday.
• The attackers set fire to a health post during their assault on Cantine-Aloya in North Kivu province, a hotspot of the Ebola outbreak coursing through Congo, officials said
• Patients from a nearby hospital also fled, including one confirmed Ebola patient and five suspected cases, among them three high-risk contacts, the head doctor there, Christian Kakule Vulembera, told Reuters
• The militants from the Allied Democratic Forces, a group recognised by Islamic State as an affiliate, set fire to several houses and killed civilians, Beni territorial administrator Colonel Charles Omeonga told Reuters
• He said a death toll could not yet be established because heavy rain hampered army operations and investigations
• A total of 33 bodies were recovered after the attack, most bearing gunshot wounds, while others had been burned or hacked with machetes, according to Tchetche Aliamini, a local civil society leader
• The attackers struck the village about 50 km west of Beni around 11 p.m. local time on Thursday, officials said
• North Kivu currently accounts for half of all new infections in Congo's outbreak. Authorities have recorded more than 10,000 cases and 5,000 deaths across the country.
