Red Cross volunteers injured in scuffles during funeral of Ebola victim in eastern DR Congo

James Tasamba

Chaos erupted at the funeral of a person who died of Ebola virus disease in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, leaving four Red Cross volunteers involved in the response seriously injured, local media reported Tuesday.

The somber mood Monday at the Nyamurongo cemetery in Ituri’s provincial capital Bunia turned violent after a section of angry youths tried to force open the casket containing the remains of the deceased man in violation of safe burial standard operating procedures, according to UN Radio Okapi.

“Shortly before the burial, some colleagues of the deceased as well as young people from the community demanded that the casket be opened. They wanted to make sure that the body of their loved one was actually present. When Red Cross workers in charge of ensuring a safe burial refused, the situation quickly escalated into physical violence,” the report said, citing eyewitnesses.

There was yet no comment from the Red Cross in Congo.

But the report said as tensions flared, a crowd violently attacked the volunteers while they were trying to explain the preventive measures to the mourners, prompting security to intervene to break up the fracas.

Health authorities have said community resistance in Bunia and the northeastern town of Nizi as well as rumors and disinformation are complicating response efforts.

Local media reports said a video that went viral on social media sparked the violence after it claimed that the coffin carried by the medical teams was empty.

Jean-Pierre Bikilisende, a member of parliament for Ituri, described the incident as very dangerous for public health.

Since the current outbreak was declared on May 15, the Ebola epidemic remains active in three provinces — Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.

Confirmed cases of Ebola in Congo surpassed 300 on Monday, according to the latest figures issued by the Health Ministry. Meanwhile, deaths from the virus rose to 48.