In brief
In the early hours of June 8, 2017, armed men believed to be linked to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) carried out a violent raid on Cantine, a village 50 km west of Beni in North Kivu, killing at least 33 people and burning more than 50 houses and a health post. The assault displaced 180 patients, many of whom were suspected or confirmed Ebola cases, heightening fears of a wider outbreak in the region. Sources differ on the exact number of casualties and the extent of damage, and the attack’s motivations remain disputed.
In the early hours of June 8, 2017, armed men believed to be linked to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) launched an overnight raid on Cantine, a village about 50 km west of Beni in North Kivu, killing at least 33 civilians and setting fire to more than 50 houses and the local health post.
The attackers, a group that pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2019, seized the village’s health post, forcing 180 patients—including 179 suspected Ebola cases and one confirmed case—to flee to safer areas in the province.
Justin Paluku, head of a local civil society group, said the raid had left 33 bodies and widespread destruction.
So far, we have counted 33 bodies and more than 50 houses set on fire, along with various other forms of material destruction.
Tchetche Aliamini, another local civil society leader, confirmed the death toll and detailed the injuries sustained by victims.
Most of the victims suffered gunshot wounds, while others had been burned or hacked with machetes.
Christian Kakule, medical director of the Kelekele Hospital Centre in Cantine, warned that the hurried departure of high‑risk contacts could create a new Ebola transmission chain.
High‑risk contacts and other individuals under monitoring have all fled. Our concern is that when probable cases end up out in the open like this, they can become a source of transmission and trigger an outbreak of the disease.
The attack coincided with a devastating Ebola outbreak that has become the fastest‑spreading on record. North Kivu alone accounts for almost half of all new infections in the DRC’s Bundibugyo outbreak and is the second most affected province after Ituri.
Military and civil authorities, including Beni territorial administrator Colonel Charles Omeonga, sided with civil society groups and blamed the ADF for the violent assault.
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the DRC has recorded more than 10,000 Ebola cases and 5,300 deaths to date. Former outbreaks in North Kivu—including the 2018‑2020 epidemic—highlight the region’s vulnerability to both armed conflict and disease.
Details about the exact number of houses destroyed, the full extent of the health post’s damage, and the identity of all attackers remain unclear as investigations continue. The ADF’s role in the raid is widely cited, but some local officials have yet to confirm that all assailants were members of that group, and it is not known whether additional casualties remain uncounted.
