DR CONGO · EBOLA
Armed men tried to set fire to an Ebola treatment centre run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, the international medical charity also known as Doctors Without Borders) in Beni, eastern Congo, on the night of Friday 6 November 2026. Thirty-six patients were inside, and police and local reports say nobody was hurt.
The attack matters beyond Congo because treatment centres are the front line against an outbreak that has already killed more than 5,000 people, and every disruption lets the virus move further. The Congolese national police say the trigger was the death of a patient, and they are still looking for the attackers.
Key Facts
- Where The Byautu neighbourhood of Beni, a city in North Kivu province, eastern Congo.
- When About 10 p.m. on Friday 6 November 2026, with gunfire heard nearby.
- Patients 36 people were being treated inside the MSF Ebola centre; no casualties were reported.
- Police finding Unexploded bottles filled with petrol were recovered at the site, and the attackers are unidentified.
- Next MSF and the police have condemned the attack, and investigations continue.
What Happened in Beni
MSF said its teams faced an attempted arson at its Ebola treatment centre at about 10 p.m. on Friday. The charity condemned the attack and said patients must be able to receive care without fear, and health workers must work without threats.
Caroline Voûte, MSF’s emergency coordinator in Beni, stressed that the safety of patients and staff comes first. MSF said it is responsible for protecting the people it treats and its own staff, so that it can keep working for the people of Beni.
What the Police Say
The Congolese national police in Beni confirmed that shots were heard at about 10 p.m. at the centre, where security forces faced unidentified men trying to burn the building. Officers later found bottles filled with petrol that had not exploded and took them as evidence.
The police say the attack began with a death earlier on Friday. A young woman who had tested positive for Ebola died, and she was the wife of a suspected member of the Wazalendo (“patriots”), the local armed groups that fight alongside the Congolese army.
Companions of her husband came to take the body, by force if necessary, and did not succeed. The police have not identified the attackers.
The Wider Ebola Picture
The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN health agency, said on Saturday 7 November, through its Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, that it was deeply concerned by the attack in Beni and that the police prevented an arson attempt. He added that armed attacks on 5 and 6 November in the Mabalako health zone (a local health district), also in North Kivu, burned three health facilities and killed patients.
He said people fled the area, including some being monitored as contacts of Ebola cases (people who were near a sick person and must be watched for symptoms), and that response teams suspended their planned activities on 6 November because of insecurity. WHO’s latest bulletin counted 10,668 confirmed cases and 5,198 deaths in eight provinces as of 3 November, before these attacks.
In Plain English
Ebola is a severe viral disease that spreads through contact with the blood or body fluids of sick people and of the dead, which is why burials and treatment sites are tense places. Treatment centres isolate patients so that the virus cannot pass to relatives and neighbours.
North Kivu is a province in Congo’s far east where armed groups are active and which is one of the provinces hardest hit by the outbreak. Beni is its main city in the north, and our earlier reports describe a rebel raid near Beni that killed at least 33 people.
What It Means for You
For readers abroad, the lesson is that an outbreak is only as controlled as its weakest link, and attacks on clinics weaken that link fast. The quicker Congo contains the disease, the lower the chance that it reaches other countries, which is what drives the health screening of travellers described in our reports on Ebola passing 10,000 cases and on deaths passing 5,000.
Donors and aid groups will watch whether MSF and WHO can keep the centre staffed and funded under threat. More coverage is on our DR Congo page.
What Is Not Known
Nobody has been named or arrested, and the police have not said how many men took part. The police account of the dead woman and the Wazalendo link is theirs alone, and MSF’s statement does not mention that link.
It is also not known whether the 36 patients stayed at the centre or were moved, and whether the attack will slow the response. We will update this page when MSF, WHO or the police give more detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened at the MSF Ebola centre in Beni?
Armed men tried to set it on fire at about 10 p.m. on Friday 6 November 2026, and police intervened. Petrol bottles were recovered, MSF reported 36 patients inside, and police report no casualties.
Why was the centre attacked?
The police say a woman with Ebola died that day and companions of her husband, a suspected Wazalendo fighter, tried to take her body. The attackers have not been identified, so this is the police account only.
Is the Ebola outbreak in Congo still growing?
WHO counted 10,668 confirmed cases and 5,198 deaths as of 3 November 2026, with North Kivu reporting the most new cases in the latest week. Attacks that interrupt tracing can make the numbers harder to control.
Sources: Médecins Sans Frontières statement on the Beni Ebola centre (6 to 9 November 2026); Congolese National Police, Beni urban commissariat, communiqué (7 November 2026); World Health Organization, statement by Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (7 November 2026) and WHO Ebola situation bulletin (6 November 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. How we use AI · Report an error