Rebels restrict travel in DR Congo over ‘Ebola infection plot’
A rebel coalition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) has imposed travel restrictions after alleging that the government planned to send Ebola-infected people into territory under its control.
Shared taxis operating between the eastern city of Goma and the town of Kirumba will be suspended for one month from Saturday, while passenger canoes will be barred from specified routes across Lake Edward, the Congo River Alliance/March 23 Movement (AFC/M23) said in a statement on Wednesday. Minibuses will remain permitted on the Goma-Kirumba road under health and security controls, while trucks carrying goods will also be allowed to operate.
AFC/M23 political coordinator Corneille Nangaa linked the coalition’s response to what he described as a threat from Kinshasa.
“There are reports of a cynical health offensive that the Kinshasa regime intends to conduct against the liberated territory by deliberately infiltrating infected people there to sow death and devastation,” he said.
DR Congo has struggled to contain the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak since it was declared on May 15. The disease has spread to six provinces, infecting 5,208 people and killing 2,476, according to figures reported by the Congolese Health Ministry on Thursday, making it the deadliest outbreak in the country’s history. The Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
AFC/M23 declared areas under its control Ebola-free in late June after saying isolation, contact tracing and community surveillance had contained an earlier wave.
The new measures follow the detection of Ebola in two travelers from the government-held town of Lubero in a village under rebel control, a member of the response team established by the rebels told Reuters.
Nangaa accused the Congolese government of corruption and tribalism and said its response was “dramatically below what the emergency demands,” while claiming that the rebel administration has confronted the outbreak with “a strong sense of responsibility.”
AFC/M23 captured Goma and Bukavu, the respective capitals of North and South Kivu provinces, during a major offensive in early 2025 and now controls large parts of both provinces.
The DR Congo’s mineral-rich east has been plagued by decades of violence, with dozens of armed groups, including M23, fighting Congolese forces for power and control of resources such as gold and coltan. Clashes escalated in early 2025, killing thousands and forcing large-scale displacement, according to UN agencies. The rebels seized Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in late January and later captured Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu.
Ceasefire efforts have repeatedly faltered, including Qatar-facilitated talks in Doha. Congolese authorities have long accused Rwanda of supporting the militants, allegations backed by a UN panel of experts. Kigali has denied the claims. The accusations have strained Rwanda’s relations with Western partners, including Belgium. In March, Kigali severed diplomatic ties with Brussels, accusing it of harboring “neo-colonial delusions” and interfering in the conflict.
In December, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, ratified a US-brokered agreement committing Kigali to withdraw its forces from the border and end alleged support for M23, while Kinshasa pledged to curb militias hostile to Rwanda. US President Donald Trump has said the pact, which includes calls for a joint security mechanism, gives Washington rights to local mineral wealth. The fighting has continued despite Trump’s claims that he ended the decades-long conflict.
The World Health Organization has said ongoing insecurity, large-scale displacement, and population movements are complicating the Ebola response. Attacks on health facilities have reportedly restricted access for response teams, disrupted surveillance, and increased the risk of infections going undetected.
