An Ebola treatment center in the town of Rwampara was set on fire by residents on Thursday after a dispute erupted over the handling of a suspected Ebola victim’s body, highlighting growing tensions between public health protocols and local burial customs amid an ongoing outbreak.

According to a witness and a senior police official, the violence broke out when local youths attempted to retrieve the body of a man believed to have died from Ebola. Health workers reportedly stopped them from taking the body for traditional funeral rites, triggering anger that escalated despite police intervention. The confrontation ultimately led to the treatment facility being attacked and set ablaze.

Eyewitness accounts indicated that crowds broke into the center, set fire to equipment inside, and damaged materials stored at the facility, including what appeared to be the remains of at least one suspected Ebola patient. Aid workers were forced to evacuate the site in vehicles as the situation spiralled out of control.

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Authorities said the unrest stemmed largely from a lack of understanding of Ebola containment protocols, which require strict handling of bodies to prevent further transmission. Officials emphasized that victims must be buried under regulated procedures, as Ebola-infected remains remain highly contagious and can pose a serious risk during traditional funeral practices involving close contact and communal gatherings.

Humanitarian organisations later confirmed that calm had been restored and operations at the facility were continuing. However, the incident underscores the broader challenges facing health authorities and aid agencies in eastern Congo, where insecurity, displacement, and mistrust of medical interventions continue to complicate efforts to contain the outbreak, which the World Health Organization has classified as a public health emergency of international concern.

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