KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Angry young men stormed a hospital treating Ebola patients at the heart of the latest outbreak of the disease in eastern Congo on Sunday evening, forcing the medical staff to scramble to evacuate the patients as gunfire rang out in the area.
It was not immediately known if anyone was hurt in the attack on the Monbgwalu General Hospital but Dr. Richard Lokudu, the hospital’s medical director, told The Associated Press the attackers demanded that two bodies of their kin be handed over to them.
There was gunfire and the medics were trying to evacuate the patients and the staff, Lokudu said over the phone.
“Monbgwalu General Hospital is on general alert,” he added. He did not have any further details of the unfolding turmoil.
The attack — the third in a week’s time on health care facilities where medical workers struggle with lack of resources to treat suspected Ebola cases — underlined the challenges of the outbreak, which the World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency of international concern.
Bodies of those who died of Ebola can be highly contagious and lead to further spread when people prepare them for burial and gather for funerals. '
In response to the outbreak, Congolese authorities have mandated that the dangerous work of burying suspected victims be managed wherever possible by authorities, which can be met by protests from families and friends. On Friday, the government said funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people would be banned in northeastern Congo in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
On Saturday, a group of residents of Mongbwalu attacked and set fire to a tent set up for suspected and confirmed Ebola cases by the Doctors Without Borders humanitarian group.
During that attack, 18 people with suspected Ebola infections left the facility and were now unaccounted for, Lokudu had said earlier.
On Thursday, another treatment center, in the town of Rwampara, was burned down after family members were banned from retrieving the body of a local man suspected to have died of Ebola.
WHO has said the outbreak poses a “very high” risk for Congo — up from a previous categorization of “high” — but that the risk of the disease spreading globally remains low.
Earlier on Sunday, the Congolese Ministry of Communication said on X that there were 904 suspected cases of Ebola, mostly in northeastern Ituri Province — 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.
There is no available vaccine for the Bundibugyo virus, a rare type of Ebola, which spread undetected for weeks in Ituri following the first reported death — in late April in the town of Bunia, the provincial capital — while authorities tested for another, more common, Ebola virus and came up negative.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Saturday that three of its volunteers had died from the outbreak in Mongbwalu. The agency said it believed the three healthcare workers contracted the virus on March 27 while handling dead bodies as part of a humanitarian mission unrelated to Ebola.
If confirmed, this would significantly push back the timeline of the outbreak.
Pronczuk reported from Dakar, Senegal.
Family members of an Ebola victim mourn as the coffin is taken away for burial, at Sofepadi Hospital in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell honored Kyle Busch's widow, Samantha, and the couple's children, Brexton and Lennix, before the start of the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday in an emotional speech.
Standing beside the family on the frontstretch at Charlotte Motor Speedway, O'Donnell looked at the family and said, "Samantha, I want you to know that this sport stands with you, and that you and your children are NASCAR family forever. And Brexton and Lennix, your dad loved you with all his heart. Everyone gathered here, everyone behind you, everybody watching on TV, and all those people up in that grandstand are your family — and we’ve got you. ”
Tears rolled down Samantha Busch’s cheek as she wrapped her arm tightly around 11-year-old Brexton, an aspiring racer. Both wore black T-shirts that read “Battle of the Busches.”
Busch’s older brother and former Cup Series champion, Kurt, and his parents, Tom and Gaye, also attended the tribute.
Auto racing's biggest day became a Memorial Day weekend tribute to NASCAR racing great Busch from Indianapolis to CMS.
Busch died Thurday at 41 after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming complications, according to a statement released by his family, and his loss sent shockwaves through the motorsports world and beyond.
At the Coca-Cola 600 — a race Busch won in 2018 — NASCAR and CMS honored the two-time Cup Series champion with a large, black No. 8 and his signature on the frontstretch grass and a photo on the videoboard.
The U.S. Army Golden Knights planned to carry Busch's flag prior during pre-race festivities following a moment of silence. Each of the 39 cars in field will carry Busch's decal. On the pace lap, the cars formed the missing man formation. And, the speedway's public address system and the television commentators planned to go silent on the eighth lap of the race.
On Saturday night, Layne Riggs celebrated his Trucks Series win at CMS by doing one of Busch's traditional bows to the crowd after the race, and Ross Chastain did the same after capturing the rain-shortened O'Reilly Auto Parts race.
O'Donnell called Busch “an American badass.”
“When you think race car driver and what that person should be like, Kyle Busch is probably one of the first that comes to your mind on the type of racer he was," Cup Series driver Joey Logano said.
Fans at CMS arrived in droves with shirts to honor Busch that read “Rowdy” and “KFB.”
Earlier in the day at the Indianapolis 500, Dale Coyne Racing changed the font of Romain Grosjean's No. 18 car to replicate the font the two-time Brickyard 400 winner used during his 14 seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing in his No. 18 car.
Then came the opening prayer, in which Busch was mentioned by name. And on Lap 18, race officials lit up the scoring pylon next to pit lane with Busch's name, his birth year and 2026.
Even with the pageantry of Indianapolis' big IndyCar race, Busch, who had a record 234 victory across NASCAR’s three national series, was never far from the thoughts of people in the city that dubs itself the “Racing Capital of the World.” The father of two died Thursday at age 41 from what his family said was severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis.
“It’s desperately sad. It’s also one of those things where you try not to think about it or let it in because you’ve got so much to do, you can’t let yourself get emotional,” Katherine Legge said Friday after returning to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “But honestly, racing has lost one of the greatest drivers, in my opinion, of all time. If you look back at the history and just — he was a legend.”
As Indy held its biggest race of the year, those who knew or competed against Busch raced with a heavy heart.
“How can you not be in shock over the situation?” two-time Indy winner Josef Newgarden said Friday. “I think it just puts into perspective how fragile life is. You just don’t know. Makes me think of his kids, to be honest with you. Gosh, I feel terrible about — I have two sons now. That’s the thing that breaks my heart.”
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A decal is displayed on Denny Hamlin's car in honor of late driver Kyle Busch prior to a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, May 24, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Helicopters fly over the field on the parade lap before the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
A decal is displayed on the on the truck of Andres Perez De Lara in honor of the late driver Kyle Busch, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Fighter jets fly over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during ceremonies before the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race, Sunday, May 24, 2026 in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
FILE - Kurt Busch waits in his car before practice for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup series Coca-Cola 600 auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Saturday, May 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn, File, File) CORRECTION: Driver ID corrected to Kurt Busch, not Kyle Busch.
