Militants linked to the Islamic State group killed at least 33 people in an overnight raid on a village in eastern Congo, and the violence sent patients fleeing from a nearby hospital that was caring for confirmed and suspected Ebola cases, according to local leaders and health workers quoted by Reuters and the Associated Press on Friday, Nov. 6.
The attack hit Cantine, a village in North Kivu province that Reuters identified as Cantine-Aloya, about 50 kilometers (roughly 30 miles) west of the city of Beni. It began around 11 p.m. local time on Thursday, Nov. 5. Local officials blamed the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, an armed group with roots in Uganda that is recognized by the Islamic State as an affiliate.
What happened in Cantine
Civil society leaders told both news agencies that 33 bodies had been recovered. One local leader told Reuters that most of the victims had gunshot wounds. Another, Justin Paluku, told the AP that more than 50 houses had been set on fire and called the raid a major failure of security in the area. Attackers also burned a local health post, Reuters reported.
The death toll is still provisional. The regional administrator for Beni territory, Col. Charles Omeonga, told Reuters that the final number could not yet be confirmed because “heavy rain hampered army operations and investigations.” Many villagers fled to other parts of the province, the AP reported.
Ebola patients scattered by the violence
The raid is especially alarming because North Kivu is at the center of Congo’s Ebola outbreak. Christian Kakule, the medical director of the Kelekele Hospital Center in Cantine, told the AP that about 180 patients fled the hospital as gunfire broke out and homes burned as close as 50 meters (164 feet) away. He told Reuters that those who left included one confirmed Ebola patient and five suspected cases, three of whom were considered high-risk contacts.
“They can become a source of transmission and trigger an outbreak of the disease.” (Christian Kakule, medical director, Kelekele Hospital Center, to the AP)
Health authorities had not publicly confirmed the full number of people who left the hospital as of Friday, BaretaNews noted in its roundup of the reporting.
An outbreak already among the worst on record
Congolese authorities have recorded more than 10,000 Ebola cases and more than 5,000 deaths nationwide, according to Reuters, and North Kivu accounts for about half of all new infections. The AP reported that the outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus and described it as the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak in history. Upstormed News reported earlier this month when the outbreak passed 5,000 deaths, and our weekly roundup noted when cases topped 10,000.
The AP noted that ongoing violence in eastern Congo has hampered the Ebola response, and the attack on Cantine shows how quickly fighting can disrupt care in the outbreak’s hardest-hit province.
Who are the ADF?
The ADF has operated for years along the border region between Congo and Uganda and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019, according to the AP. The group routinely attacks civilians. In July 2025, it killed 66 people in eastern Congo in an attack the United Nations described as a bloodbath. The AP noted that roughly 100 other armed groups are active in Congo, the most prominent being the Rwanda-backed M23, which has seized key cities in the east.
Why it matters for families
For families in eastern Congo, the attack means another night of loss and displacement in a region that has endured years of violence, now layered on top of a deadly epidemic. For the wider world, it is a reminder that disease outbreaks and conflict are closely linked: when patients scatter, an outbreak can spread to new places. Families who want to help can look to established humanitarian and medical relief organizations working in the region, and anyone with travel plans should check official government travel advisories.
What to watch next
- Whether Congolese officials confirm a final death toll once rain eases and investigators reach the area.
- Whether health teams can locate the confirmed and suspected Ebola patients who fled the Kelekele hospital.
- Any new case counts from North Kivu in the coming days that could show whether the disruption spreads the virus.
This is a developing story, and Upstormed News will follow it.
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How do you think the world should help protect health workers and patients in conflict zones during outbreaks like this one?
Sources: Reuters via Yahoo News, “Islamist militants force Ebola patients to flee in deadly Congo raid” (November 6, 2026); Associated Press via myMotherLode, “IS-linked militants kill at least 33 in eastern Congo village attack, civil society says” (November 6, 2026); BaretaNews, “Dozens reported killed in eastern Congo attack as Ebola patients flee” (November 6, 2026)
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