Attacks on Ebola treatment centers are one of several problems affecting Congo's outbreak response

Arson attacks on Ebola treatment centers in eastern Congo show multiple obstacles to stopping a declared global health emergency. Burning centers in two outbreak towns reflects anger in a region affected by violence from armed rebel groups. The area faces persistent insecurity, with dozens of rebel groups operating and some linked to foreign actors or Islamic State. Rwanda-backed M23 controls parts of the region, while government control in Ituri is tenuous. The Allied Democratic Forces, linked to Islamic State, carries out attacks on civilians. Doctors Without Borders reported worsening insecurity before the outbreak, with health workers fleeing and facilities facing catastrophic conditions. Nearly one million people in Ituri are displaced, compounding the outbreak response challenges.

"Arson attacks on Ebola treatment centers in eastern Congo show how authorities are faced with a number of serious complications - including a backlash in local communities - as they try to stop an outbreak of an infectious disease that has been declared a global health emergency. The burning of the centers in two towns at the heart of the outbreak shows the anger in a region beset by violence linked to armed rebel groups, the displacement of a large number of people, the failure of local government and international aid cuts that experts say have stripped health facilities in vulnerable communities."

"Eastern Congo has seen violence by dozens of separate rebel groups for years, some of them with links to foreign countries or Islamic State. The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are in control of parts of the region. While the Congolese government still largely controls the northeastern Ituri Province, which is the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak, that control is tenuous. The Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan Islamist group linked to Islamic State, is one of the dominant rebel groups there and responsible for violent attacks against civilian targets."

"Before the outbreak, Doctors Without Borders said in an assessment of the situation in Ituri that the insecurity had worsened recently, causing doctors and nurses to flee and leaving overwhelmed health facilities and "catastrophic" conditions in some parts."

"Nearly 1 million people in Ituri have been displaced from their homes by conflict, according to the United Nations humanitarian office. That means this Ebola outbreak is 2"

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