Congo rebels kill 13, abduct kids in Ebola outbreak region

A Congolese girl gestures to peacekeepers from India, serving in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), as they ride on patrol in the town of Kiwanja, Democratic Republic of Congo, October 19, 2018. (Source: REUTERS)

Congo’s military says rebels have killed 13 civilians and abducted a dozen children in an attack at the center of the latest deadly Ebola outbreak. Capt Mak Hazukay Mongha tells The Associated Press that the rebels attacked Congolese army positions and several neighbourhoods of Beni on Saturday and into Sunday. He says the army continues to pursue the Allied Democratic Forces fighters.

Angry Beni residents on Sunday morning carried four of the bodies to Beni’s town hall, where police dispersed them with tear gas. Late last month, Ebola outbreak containment efforts had to be suspended for days in Beni after a deadly rebel attack.

Since then, many of the new confirmed Ebola cases have been reported in Beni as the rate of new cases overall has more than doubled.