D.R. Congo: One dead as security forces open fire during ‘Ebola’ burial in Beni

One person was killed and several others wounded on Thursday after security forces opened fire while trying to contain unrest during the burial of a suspected Ebola victim in Beni, a city in northeastern Congo’s North Kivu province, according to two sources cited by Reuters.

The incident took place at the Katula-Paida cemetery, where a burial team preparing to inter the body in line with Ebola safety protocols was confronted by residents demanding to see the deceased and questioning whether the person had actually died of the virus.

As tensions escalated, security forces escorting the burial team opened fire in an attempt to control the crowd, killing at least one person and wounding several others, according to a member of the local Ebola response team and a health official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Investigations are reportedly underway to establish the full circumstances and final toll of the shooting.

The incident reflects the deep mistrust that continues to hamper the Ebola response in North Kivu, a region already destabilised by years of armed conflict, where burial teams and health workers have repeatedly come under attack from communities sceptical of official accounts of the outbreak.

The province has seen a recent surge in infections, with government figures released a day earlier putting the outbreak’s toll at 7,820 confirmed cases and 3,779 deaths.