Machete-Wielding Group Attacks Ebola Response Team Near Mambasa, Injures Responder

An Ebola response team was attacked on Saturday, 29 August 2026, on the outskirts of Mambasa, Ituri Province, while responding to a call to safely secure a body suspected of dying from the virus. A group of young people armed with machetes stormed the funeral site, forcing the team to flee and injuring one member. Response team member Floribert Magene said afterward, 'We demand greater security so we can operate in the field and do our work without endangering our lives.' The incident is part of a broader pattern of insecurity — including threats, misinformation, and prior machete attacks reported earlier in August — that has repeatedly disrupted safe-burial and contact-tracing operations in Ituri, alongside an ongoing health workers' strike over unpaid wages.