Doctors operating on the front lines of the fight against Ebola in Congo, already grappling with shortages of basic supplies, are now also having to deal with attacks on their facilities and fleeing patients as the virus spreads rapidly.

At least three such incidents have occurred in the northeastern province of Ituri where the first Ebola cases were reported, including two ​at the weekend targeting the same hospital that permitted more than two dozen patients to run away.

The attacks recall the widespread violence ‌targeting health facilities ‌during a 2018-2020 outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that killed more than 25 health workers.