In a development that raises fresh alarms over public health and security in the conflict-torn eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the M23 militia confirmed Thursday that the first Ebola case has been recorded in South Kivu province, a region currently under the armed group’s control. The confirmation comes as the international health community already designates the ongoing Ebola outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the World Health Organization’s highest alert level, and ongoing conflict in the region has long complicated efforts to contain the spread of the deadly hemorrhagic disease.
Backed by Rwanda, M23 has seized large swathes of mineral-rich territory in eastern DRC since its resurgence of hostilities, and has moved to establish a permanent parallel governing structure separate from the formal Congolese national administration across the areas it holds. Until now, however, the armed group has never faced the challenge of coordinating a response to a major epidemic of a high-mortality disease like Ebola. Over the past 50 years, Ebola has claimed more than 15,000 lives across the African continent, overwhelming weak health systems and rapid response capacity in vulnerable, conflict-affected regions.
According to M23 spokesperson, diagnostic tests confirmed the positive Ebola case in Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province that fell under M23 control in February 2025. The infected individual, the spokesperson added, traveled to Bukavu from Kisangani, a major urban center in Tshopo province, where no cases linked to the current outbreak have been documented to date.
The detection of the case in M23-held territory deepens existing concerns over the outbreak’s trajectory. Years of persistent conflict between the Congolese national army and M23, alongside other armed groups active in the region, has disrupted supply lines, displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and fragmented health infrastructure, all factors that accelerate Ebola transmission and hinder contact tracing, vaccine distribution, and patient care.