Three killed in Ebola response centre attacks

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Three health workers were killed and several injured in attacks on two Ebola response centres in eastern Congo, authorities and health services said.

Violence and unrest are hampering efforts to contain the second worst Ebola epidemic on record, which killed 2 199 people since the outbreak was announced in August 2018.

A local militia known as Mai Mai repeatedly attacked health facilities because they believe Ebola does not exist and response is a plot to eliminate the local population.

The Mai Mai simultaneously attacked Ebola treatment centres in Mangina in North Kivu and Byakoto in Ituri, said Jean-Jacques Muyembe, head of Ebola response for the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“It is a blow to the Ebola response because we were eradicating the disease. These attacks challenge efforts to date,” Muyembe said.

Police said the three dead were World Health Organisation (WHO) workers.

New infections have been on the decline since August, with 70 cases identified in October, medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said.