A hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo was stormed this morning by armed men in a frantic search for a six-year-old child suspected of carrying the Ebola virus. The raid, which took place at a treatment centre in North Kivu province, has sent shockwaves through the international community and placed UK aid teams on standby for possible deployment.
The child, whose name has not been released for safety reasons, had been under observation after showing symptoms of the deadly haemorrhagic fever. Witnesses reported that a group of around 20 men, some wielding machetes and rifles, forced their way into the facility, demanding the child be handed over. Medical staff were forced to flee as the intruders searched rooms and overturned beds.
“It was chaos,” said Dr. Emmanuel Kabange, a nurse at the centre who spoke to reporters from a nearby safe house. “They were shouting that we were hiding the child, that the child was not sick but we were lying. We barely escaped with our lives.”
The motive for the raid remains unclear, but health officials suspect it may be linked to local mistrust of foreign medical interventions. The region has a history of resistance to Ebola containment efforts, with some residents believing the disease is a fabrication or that health workers are deliberately spreading it. In 2019, similar attacks on treatment centres led to dozens of deaths and forced the World Health Organization to suspend operations in certain areas.
The child’s parents are believed to have taken the patient from the hospital before the raid began, possibly to avoid forced treatment or separation. The whereabouts of the family are unknown, sparking fears of a wider outbreak if the child is infected and not isolated.
The UK Department for International Development has confirmed that a team of 40 medical specialists, including virologists and infection control experts, is on standby at a military base in the UK, ready to fly to the region within 24 hours if requested by the Congolese government. This comes as part of a standing agreement with the World Health Organization to provide rapid response capacity.
“We are monitoring the situation closely,” said a spokesperson for the Foreign Office. “Our thoughts are with the medical workers who faced this terrifying ordeal. We stand ready to support our Congolese partners in containing any potential spread of Ebola, while emphasising that local engagement and trust are essential for effective public health responses.”
The attack has drawn sharp criticism from human rights groups. Amnesty International called it “a despicable act that endangers not only the child but the entire community”. The organisation urged the Congolese authorities to ensure the safety of patients and health workers, and to work with local leaders to counter misinformation.
Ebola, which causes severe fever, vomiting, and internal bleeding, has a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent without treatment. The current outbreak in North Kivu has already claimed 12 lives since it was declared in April. The region is also grappling with conflict between armed groups, making it one of the most challenging settings for epidemic response.
For the families in the area, the raid is another blow to a fragile healthcare system. “We are afraid to send our children to the clinic now,” said Marie Bintou, a mother of three living near the hospital. “How can we trust that they will be safe?”
The search for the missing child continues, with Congolese police and health workers scouring villages. The UK aid teams remain on standby, but their deployment hinges on Congolese officials regaining control and re-establishing a safe environment for treatment.
