Islamist militants force Ebola patients to flee in deadly Congo raid

(Corrects names of village in first bullet)

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Islamic State-linked militants raided a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 33 civilians and forcing patients with confirmed and suspected Ebola infections to flee, authorities said on Friday.

• The attackers set fire to a health post during their assault on Cantine-Aloya in North Kivu province, a hotspot of the Ebola outbreak coursing through Congo, officials said

• Patients from a nearby hospital also fled, including one confirmed Ebola patient and five suspected cases, among them three high-risk contacts, the head doctor there, Christian Kakule Vulembera, told Reuters

• The militants from the Allied Democratic Forces, a group recognised by Islamic State as an affiliate, set fire to several houses and killed civilians, Beni territorial administrator Colonel Charles Omeonga told Reuters

• He said a death toll could not yet be established because heavy rain hampered army operations and investigations

• A total of 33 bodies were recovered after the attack, most bearing gunshot wounds, while others had been burned or hacked with machetes, according to Tchetche Aliamini, a local civil society leader

• The attackers struck the village about 50 km west of Beni around 11 p.m. local time on Thursday, officials said

• North Kivu currently accounts for half of all new infections in Congo’s outbreak. Authorities have recorded more than 10,000 cases and 5,000 deaths across the country.

(Reporting by Gradel Muyisa in Beni; Additional reporting by Fiston Mahamba; Writing by Clement Bonnerot; Editing by Jessica Donati and Andrew Heavens)