Congo-Kinshasa: After an Ebola Centre Was Attacked, Peacekeepers Moved in Next Door

What the report says

AllAfrica, republishing a UN News Service report dated 24 July 2026, reported that the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO, set up a mobile base near Nyakunde in Ituri Province after violence disrupted Ebola response work. The base was deployed on 16 July near Marabo, close to Nyakunde, to support patrols around health facilities and help protect patients and medical staff.

According to the report, the move followed unrest on 15 July, when young people vandalised the local Ebola Treatment Centre. The same period saw clashes after the killing of local militia leader Kakani Tondabo, with five additional deaths reported. UN officials said the peacekeeper presence helped calm the area and enabled some residents who had fled to return.

The Ebola Treatment Centre, beside Nyakunde General Referral Hospital, has 31 beds. The report cited national health authorities as saying that since the Congolese Government declared the outbreak on 15 May, more than 2,500 cases and over 1,000 deaths had been recorded. It also said at least 12 health facilities had come under attack, linked in part to fear, misinformation and mistrust of outside authorities. Local health officials are seeking a more permanent MONUSCO presence to safeguard patients.

The outbreak is unfolding alongside continuing armed conflict in eastern DR Congo. The report said OCHA had recorded at least 60 civilian deaths since 12 July along the North Kivu-Ituri border, and that 25,000 displaced people had recently reached Beni. UN agencies and partners are preparing for possible further Ebola spread, including cases raising concern around Kisangani and the Congo River.