M23 plays down Ebola fears as WHO visits treatment centres in eastern DRC

A M23 rebel group spokesperson downplayed concerns about the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a team from the World Health Organization visited a treatment center in Nyiragongo on Tuesday.

The WHO team also went to a public health laboratory in Goma, which is under occupation by the M23 rebel group.

The World Health Organization team did not speak to the media, but M23 rebel spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said that "there was a total of 27 samples, all of which had tested negative."

“This major centre operates 24 hours a day and has the capacity to process samples from more than five provinces”, he added.

In Goma, a city of over two million people that has been under the control of M23 rebels since January 2025, concern is growing.

Amid insecurity, economic hardship and shortages, many residents fear that a new outbreak will further worsen their daily lives and are calling on the authorities to step up protective measures.

“I am asking the authorities to help us find a way to put an end to this Ebola virus,” said Innocent Bonane, a local resident.

The World Health Organization director-general openly worried Tuesday over the “scale and speed” of an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola in the country's east, where authorities reported a sharp increase in suspected deaths — to at least 131 — and over 500 suspected cases.

The virus spread undetected for weeks after the first known death as authorities tested for a more common type of Ebola and came up negative, health experts and aid workers said.