Tensions are rising in eastern DR Congo as communities clash with health officials during the worsening Ebola outbreak.
Police in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo fired warning shots into the air after angry crowds tried to reclaim the bodies of relatives who died at an Ebola treatment centre in Mongwalu.
The unrest reportedly lasted throughout Sunday, with protesters demanding that two bodies be released to their families for burial. Officials said the treatment centre had already been attacked earlier when an isolation tent inside the hospital compound was set on fire.
Health authorities warned that Ebola victims remain highly infectious after death, making traditional burial practices dangerous and capable of spreading the virus further.
More than 900 suspected Ebola cases and about 220 suspected deaths have been recorded so far. Red Cross volunteers conducting safe burials under police protection have also suffered losses, with three volunteers dying from suspected infections.
The outbreak has now spread across parts of eastern DR Congo and neighbouring Uganda. This has prompted regional health authorities and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to strengthen cross-border response efforts.
The World Health Organization says the outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. A strain without a vaccine or treatment.
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