An ISIS-claimed attack in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo forced about 180 patients to flee Kelekele Hospital in North Kivu province. (Foto: Instagram)
The Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for an attack in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo that drove patients suspected of having Ebola from a medical center. The report described the attack as killing more than 40 people, but the stated death tolls differ: local authorities reported 33 deaths, while ISIS said it had killed at least 60 people it called “Christians.”
The attack took place Friday, Nov. 6, in North Kivu province. The World Health Organization has identified the province as the second hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak in the country, which has killed more than 5,000 people.
Residents were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in neighboring areas. About 180 patients at Kelekele Hospital were among those displaced, according to the facility’s medical director, Christian Kakule, who spoke to Al Jazeera.
ISIS announced its claim in a statement released Monday, Nov. 9. The broader report said that Africa has become a global center of terrorism in recent years as jihadist groups moved to the continent. It linked that shift to ISIS losing influence and power in the Middle East after territories it had captured in Iraq and Syria in the early 2010s were retaken.
