KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Attacks on Ebola treatment centers in eastern Congo underscore the serious challenges authorities face — including a backlash in local communities — as they try to stem an outbreak of the infectious disease that has been declared a global health emergency.
On Sunday, Congolese authorities said suspected cases have now passed 900 in the east of the country, mainly in Ituri Province, where the ongoing outbreak is centered. Later Sunday night, angry young men stormed a hospital treating Ebola patients in the town of Mongbwalu in Ituri, the hospital's director said.
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A sanitation worker from the Bunia city government sprays chlorine to disinfect the central market, as Ituri province continues to combat an Ebola outbreak, in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Members of the Congo Scouts movement carry an Ebola awareness banner along a street during a public sensitisation campaign amid the Ebola outbreak in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
A woman mourns an Ebola victim as the coffin is take away for burial, at Sofepadi Hospital in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Djakisa Christian, 18, a funeral home manager, sits in front of coffins for sale at his shop in Bunia, Congo, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
A sanitation worker from the Bunia city government sprays chlorine to disinfect the central market, as Ituri province continues to combat an Ebola outbreak, in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Francois Kasereka, a member of the Congo Scouts movement, speaks to people during a public sensitisation campaign amid the Ebola outbreak in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Flames and smoke rise from an Ebola treatment center in Rwampara, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)
Sanitation workers from Bunia city government spray disinfectant in the central market area near a rubbish truck in Ituri province, as they continue efforts to combat the Ebola outbreak in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
The attackers demanded that two bodies of their kin be handed over to them, Dr. Richard Lokudu said. Medical staff scrambled to evacuate the patients as gunfire rang out in the area; it was not immediately known if anyone was hurt in the melee.
The hospital attack and the arson at two health centers last week at he heart of the outbreak exposed the anger in a region beset by violence linked to armed rebel groups, the displacement of a large number of people, the failure of local government and international aid cuts that experts say have stripped health facilities in vulnerable communities.
“A devastating set of emergencies are converging,” said the Physicians for Human Rights nonprofit.
Here's a look at the longstanding crises in eastern Congo that have made it home to one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters, and how they are now affecting the response to a rare type of Ebola:
Eastern Congo has for years seen attacks by dozens of separate rebel and militant groups, some of them with links to foreign countries or the extremist Islamic State group.
The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are in control of parts of the region. While the Congolese government still largely controls the northeastern Ituri Province, the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak, that control is tenuous. The Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan Islamist group linked to IS, is one of the dominant rebel groups there and responsible for violent attacks against civilian targets.
Before the outbreak, Doctors Without Borders said in an assessment that the insecurity in Ituri had worsened recently, causing doctors and nurses to flee and leaving overwhelmed health facilities and in some parts, “catastrophic conditions.”
The U.N. humanitarian office says almost a million people have been displaced from their homes by conflict in Ituri.
That means this Ebola outbreak is “unfolding in communities already facing insecurity, displacement and fragile health care systems,” said Gabriela Arenas, a regional coordinator at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
There are concerns the disease might spread to the large displacement camps near the city of Bunia, where the first cases were reported.
The Congolese Ministry of Communication said on X on Sunday that there were 904 suspected cases of Ebola, mostly in Ituri — a significant jump from the previously announced more than 700 suspected Ebola cases.
The ministry also said the total suspected Ebola deaths stood at 119, but the numbers it released separately for each region added up to 220. Officials could not immediately be reached to explain the discrepancy.
Cases have also been reported in two other eastern provinces, North Kivu and South Kivu, where the M23 rebels are in control, and also in the neighboring country of Uganda.
As a result, the outbreak in Congo is being managed by the government and in part by rebel authorities, with an array of aid agencies also helping.
Health experts say international aid cuts last year by the United States and other rich nations were devastating for eastern Congo because of its multiple problems.
The cuts “reduced the capacity to detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks,” said Thomas McHale, public health director at Physicians for Human Rights. Congo has had more than a dozen previous Ebola outbreaks.
Aid groups fighting this outbreak on the ground say they don't have the equipment they need, such as face shields and suits to protect health workers from infection, testing kits, and body bags and other materials needed to safely bury the bodies of victims, which can be highly contagious.
“We have made requests to different partners, but we have not yet really received anything,” said Julienne Lusenge, president of Women’s Solidarity for Inclusive Peace and Development, an aid group operating a small hospital near Bunia.
“We only have hand sanitizer and a few masks for the nurses,” she said.
The Bundibugyo type of Ebola virus responsible for the outbreak has no approved vaccine or treatment.
Colin Thomas-Jensen, director of impact at the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, said the attacks on health facilities treating Ebola may reflect the “built-in skepticism and anger” of people in eastern Congo over how the region has been treated, with years of violence from foreign-linked rebel groups and a failure of the government and international peacekeepers to protect them.
Another source of anger has been the strict protocols around the burial of suspected victims of Ebola, which authorities are taking charge of wherever they can to prevent further spread of the disease in traditional burials — when families prepare the bodies and people gather for a funeral.
Authorities in northeastern Congo have now banned funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people, and armed soldiers and police are guarding some burials carried out by aid workers.
Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa. Associated Press writers Mark Banchereau and Wilson McMakin in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.
A sanitation worker from the Bunia city government sprays chlorine to disinfect the central market, as Ituri province continues to combat an Ebola outbreak, in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Members of the Congo Scouts movement carry an Ebola awareness banner along a street during a public sensitisation campaign amid the Ebola outbreak in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
A woman mourns an Ebola victim as the coffin is take away for burial, at Sofepadi Hospital in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Djakisa Christian, 18, a funeral home manager, sits in front of coffins for sale at his shop in Bunia, Congo, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
A sanitation worker from the Bunia city government sprays chlorine to disinfect the central market, as Ituri province continues to combat an Ebola outbreak, in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Francois Kasereka, a member of the Congo Scouts movement, speaks to people during a public sensitisation campaign amid the Ebola outbreak in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Flames and smoke rise from an Ebola treatment center in Rwampara, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)
Sanitation workers from Bunia city government spray disinfectant in the central market area near a rubbish truck in Ituri province, as they continue efforts to combat the Ebola outbreak in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
PROVO, Utah (AP) — The defendant in Charlie Kirk’s killing told his roommate “he wishes he hadn’t done it” the day after the conservative activist was shot in the neck while speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University, a recording played in court revealed Thursday.
Lance Twiggs, who was also defendant Tyler Robinson’s romantic partner, said in an interview with law enforcement that the interaction with Robinson happened in their apartment in southern Utah, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from where Kirk was shot.
Later that same day — and only about an hour before turning himself in — Robinson posted "it was me at UVU yesterday,” in a chat room on the Discord social media platform, according to investigators and messages shown by prosecutors.
Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and has not entered a plea. He turned himself in a day after the fatal shooting of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump credited with helping galvanize young voters for the Republican in the 2024 election.
Ammunition found in the gun used to kill Kirk had engravings that included “Hey Facist! Catch!” and “If you Read This, You Are GAY,” prosecutors said.
Robinson appeared to furrow his brow and smirk when text messages he sent to Twiggs about engraving bullets were displayed in the courtroom Thursday.
His family sat behind him and Robinson's mom cried as the Discord messages were read aloud. She rubbed the shoulder of one of Robinson’s brothers, who listened with his head bowed.
Defense attorneys unsuccessfully fought the public release of the statements from Twiggs and the chat room messages. They argued prosecutors would characterize the material as a confession, undermining Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
But after prolonged debate that included an attorney for Kirk’s family arguing for the material to be publicly released, state District Judge Tony Graf allowed a redacted version of the video interview to be played. Some parts were blacked out, with only audio.
A defense attorney for Robinson, Michael Burt, tried to inject doubt into the prosecution’s case by challenging the reliability of ballistics tests on a bullet fragment recovered from Kirk’s body. Authorities sought to tie the fragment to the suspected murder weapon, but the results were inconclusive.
“Saying anything but inconclusive was inappropriate,” said Samantha Karner with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives.
The defense earlier in the week had questioned the reliability of DNA evidence that investigators said linked Robinson to the scene. Experts say the science behind DNA testing is sound.
Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a note to Twiggs that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” In that note, shown in full for the first time Thursday, Robinson added that he was “likely dead or facing a lengthy prison sentence,” prosecutors said.
Robinson separately sent a text to Twiggs allegedly saying he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”
State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis recounted the messages exchanged between Twiggs and Robinson under questioning by a prosecutor Thursday. Included were texts from Robinson worrying about leaving fingerprints on a rifle that belonged to his grandfather, which authorities believe he used to shoot Kirk. Other messages discussed engravings on bullet casings.
Twiggs spoke to authorities on Sept. 12 — two days after Kirk was assassinated while speaking to a crowd of thousands — and again on April 20, Davis said. He was given immunity for the statements, meaning what Twiggs said cannot be used against him in a potential criminal case.
Prosecutors contend the shooting endangered others at Kirk’s campus event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson also faces possible sentence enhancements based on claims by prosecutors that he targeted Kirk because of his political views.
Twiggs said in the April interview that Robinson sometimes talked about politics, including Trump. But Twiggs said he never heard Robinson talk about Kirk before the shooting. The defendant also did not talk much about gender issues or LGBTQ rights, Twiggs testified.
Graf will decide at the conclusion of this week’s preliminary hearing if prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial.
Robinson’s attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence but have sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.
Charlie Kirk’s parents and widow, Erika Kirk, sat a few rows back from Robinson's family on Thursday. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, also was in attendance.
Attorneys for the Kirks and the media urged the judge to make Twiggs' statements and other evidence public.
Kirk family lawyer Jeffrey Neiman said they had waited 10 months for the hearing but at times had been denied the chance “to meaningfully observe” it. Neiman asked that all evidence against Robinson be displayed openly and in real time during this week's hearing.
The judge responded that not all evidence would be openly displayed and he needed to protect the rights of both victims and the defendant.
Investigators say Robinson went to a rooftop near where Kirk was speaking and shot him once through the neck as the activist was taking questions from a crowd of several thousand people. Kirk was declared dead after being taken to a hospital.
Investigators found the suspected murder weapon — a bolt-action rifle with one spent round — wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near where Kirk was shot.
Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
A video interview with Lance Twiggs, Tyler Robinson's roommate and reported romantic partner, is shown during a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)
A photograph which prosecutors say shows a text message exchange between Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, and Robinson's roommate and romantic partner Lance Twiggs, is shown during a preliminary hearing at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, listens during a preliminary hearing at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)
A law enforcement officer uses binoculars to watch from the roof of the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026, before a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)
Tyler Robinson, center, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits with his defense attorneys during a preliminary hearing at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, listens during a preliminary hearing at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)
Reporters and photographers watch from an elevated parking structure outside the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026, before a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)
A law enforcement officer uses binoculars to watch from the roof of the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026, before a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)
Defense attorney Michael Burt arrives for a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)
Charlie Kirk's parents, Kathryn, and Robert Kirk, right, arrive at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, for a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, Thursday, July 9, 2026 (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Police officials handle a dog as people access the limited public seating available at a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, in Provo, Utah, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Defense attorney Michael Burt looks on during a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, at the Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP, Pool)
Agent Brian Davis, of the State Bureau of Investigation, testifies during a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, at Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, listens during a preliminary hearing at the Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP, Pool)
