In Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, ongoing security concerns are hampering efforts to contain the country’s rapidly expanding Ebola outbreak. Authorities reported at least a dozen attacks on health facilities and workers as of Saturday, impeding response activities in the epicenter of the crisis.

The outbreak, the fastest growing on record with 2,181 confirmed cases and 864 deaths to date, has been met with growing hostility from some local communities. Pierre Akilimali, the Ebola response incident manager, said that many attacks have involved angry mobs storming treatment centers or targeting teams conducting field operations. These incidents have heightened safety fears among healthcare and aid workers operating in the region.

As a result, many frontline workers, who have also been unpaid for periods of time, have staged strikes, further complicating response efforts. Recent reports indicate that health workers have been withdrawing from remote areas regarded as hot spots and concentrating in Bunia, the provincial capital. Local residents have linked this withdrawal to a recent protest in Nyakunde, Ituri, where anger flared following the death of a woman at a nearby hospital, triggering an attack on Ebola response teams.

Ituri province currently accounts for around 90% of the reported Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo, underscoring the urgency of stabilizing the situation to effectively manage the outbreak. Health officials and aid organizations are facing the dual challenge of overcoming community mistrust and ensuring the safety of staff to maintain critical services amid escalating violence and unrest.