Eastern

Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo – As Ebola cases continue to emerge in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Virunga National Park – Africa’s oldest – is strengthening health measures to protect communities and the endangered mountain gorillas living in it.

The measures are part of the park’s emergency response after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and neighbouring Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in May.

“It is a terrible disease and one that poses a threat first and foremost to human populations. Protected areas such as Virunga National Park are vast natural spaces where there are no human populations. They act as barriers to the spread of the disease,” Emmanuel de Merode, director-general of Virunga National Park, told Al Jazeera.

Virunga previously supported efforts to contain the DRC’s 10th Ebola outbreak between 2018 and 2020, which killed nearly 2,300 people in North Kivu and Ituri provinces. De Merode believes the park can again contribute to slowing transmission during the country’s 17th outbreak, which has killed more than 1,400 people, according to Congolese health authorities.

Rangers and health workers join the response

The park has established six health checkpoints within and around its territory, a 300km (186-mile) stretch of protected forest that park officials describe as a natural barrier across North Kivu. It has also deployed 40 paramedics alongside 80 rangers as part of an initial six-month emergency response.

De Merode told Al Jazeera the checkpoints on roads crossing the park allow authorities to monitor movement through the protected area.

“We are setting up checkpoints, which act as roadblocks, together with health units for handwashing and temperature screening, and a first-level isolation centre next to each checkpoint,” he said.

In Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, checkpoints north and south of Bunia, the provincial capital, are screening travellers arriving from areas affected by Ebola.

“We have supported the health service with protective equipment, body bags, thermometers and vehicles because, when the disease first broke out, the health services faced real difficulties, particularly in North Kivu,” de Merode said.

Virunga, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site since 1980, is located in a region that has experienced more than two decades of armed conflict. More than 800 rangers protect the park, which is home to a number of the world’s most threatened species.

A wider role in the Ebola response

De Merode said experience from previous outbreaks has strengthened cooperation between Virunga and Congolese health authorities, particularly in surveillance and early detection.

Reflecting on the 2018-2020 Ebola response, he said members of the outbreak response committee considered Virunga an important factor in limiting the spread of the virus.

“The response committee at the time noted that the fact the disease never widely spread to Goma or to other parts of the country was also due to Virunga National Park, which was considered a major factor in preventing the disease from spreading southwards or eastwards,” he said.

De Merode stressed that Virunga remains only one part of a wider response led by Congolese health authorities and supported by technical and financial partners.

“All the information collected at our checkpoints is immediately transmitted to the Congolese National Institute of Public Health for follow-up,” he said.

In Ituri province, three checkpoints managed by the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation within Virunga are screening travellers arriving from areas most exposed to Ebola.

Park officials say two suspected cases have been identified at the checkpoints and referred to public health authorities for monitoring.

“If, unfortunately, cases do arise beyond the checkpoint, we are able to trace them and all the contacts who were travelling with them, and this enables us to monitor any potential cases that may be on the move,” de Merode said.

The threat to the world’s remaining mountain gorillas

Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) are among Virunga National Park’s most iconic species. Classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), their population is estimated at just above 1,000 across the Greater Virunga Landscape, which spans the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda.

The DRC is home to a significant share of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas, with Virunga protecting one of the last populations of these great apes.

Eddy Syaluha, a veterinarian with Gorilla Doctors, a conservation organisation working to protect the health of great apes in the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda, told Al Jazeera that the close biological relationship between humans and mountain gorillas makes them vulnerable to diseases carried by people.

“Mountain gorillas share more than 90 percent of their DNA with humans, which means they are susceptible to many of the same infectious diseases, including Ebola and respiratory illnesses,” he said.

Syaluha said the risks underline the importance of a One Health approach, which recognises that human, animal and environmental health are interconnected.

Keeping Ebola away from the forest

Despite repeated Ebola outbreaks in the region over the past five decades, Syaluha said no mountain gorilla has ever been infected with the virus in Virunga National Park or elsewhere in the DRC.

He said conservation teams continue to monitor gorilla health and screen visitors to reduce the risk of human-to-animal transmission. Previous Ebola outbreaks have shown the devastating impact the virus can have on great apes, with some studies documenting mortality rates above 90 percent among western lowland gorilla populations in Central Africa.

Syaluha said the close relationship between humans and great apes makes prevention and surveillance essential to keeping Ebola away from Virunga’s gorillas.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure that what happened in other countries does not happen to our gorillas here,” he said.

“We are focusing primarily on preventive measures centred on humans to prevent transmission to our gorillas. We regularly monitor the health of our gorillas to remain on high alert.”

At least 35 people have been killed and dozens injured after two buses collided on a major highway linking eastern Syria to Damascus.

The crash comes amid wider concerns over road safety and deteriorating transport infrastructure following years of war.

Dramatic video captured the moment waves caused by Typhoon Bavi slammed into a house in China’s eastern Zhejiang province. The storm caused widespread power and phone service outages. Authorities had evacuated more than two million residents.

The Allied Democratic Forces, a militant armed group operating in the volatile borderlands of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), have sacked 12 villages in the Bambodi sector of Tshopo province, displacing hundreds of people. 

Tryphen Mabikinyambey, a member of the provincial parliament representing Bafwasende, said the ADF militants are presently only two hours away on foot from these villages in Tshopo. For months, the ADF terrorists have been based in villages dominated by the Badumbisa people in Mambasa, close to the now-abandoned villages in Tshopo. Tryphen added that many civilians in Bambodi have sought refuge in Nia-Nia, Bafwasende Centre, and Kisangani.

“The ADF rebels feel at home there. They are at ease. We have already reported their presence, yet there has still been no appropriate response from the authorities. The population is being emptied from the tribal group. There is no response from the national, provincial or local authorities,” the parliamentarian said.

He noted that all schools have been closed and that no hospitals are operational in the deserted area. “Even individuals in mining camps have left. Life is becoming increasingly challenging for everyone who is living under constant threats,” he remarked.

The representative is urging the Congolese government to launch a comprehensive operation to protect the local populations. He stated that the ADF rebels are relocating from the Bapere tribal group in North Kivu, where they are being chased by a coalition of Congolese and Ugandan armed forces as part of the joint Operation Shujaa. Unfortunately, as the ADF is chased from one area, it seeks refuge in quieter zones, such as those in Mambasa and Bafwasende, which now pose significant risks to residents.

“When they are tracked down, they search for calm areas. And these places are in the Mambasa territory and Bafwasende,” he said, noting that the ADF terrorists have been sending tracts. “They send those they have ‘rescued’ with letters of threats against Bafwasende territory and Tshopo province.”

The terrorists have also recently killed scores in North Kivu, triggering a fresh trove of armed violence in the eastern DRC. On June 4, for instance, local civil society sources said four bodies were found in the Kingeste area and a fifth one near Ngite. 

“As it stands, 21 people are dead. We’ve found four bodies around Kingeste and one near Ngite. We want to see the military pursue the assailants to their hideout, as we will face extermination if no action is taken,” said Louis Kisaki, the president of the Batangi-Mbau civil society organisation in DRC.

The recent violent waves have instilled fear and panic in Mbau and its surroundings, as the population is anxious about a potential return of the attackers to cause chaos again. Since the ADF’s assault on Mbau, many families have avoided spending nights at home, with numerous households relocating to areas deemed safer, including Oicha, the chief town of Beni territory. Economic activities have also come to a standstill across Mbau and neighbouring areas.

In just three days, the ADF terrorists have killed 40 individuals in attacks on the town and territory of Beni. The attackers have also kidnapped several civilians, who remain in captivity with hopes of their release dwindling each day.

Rescue workers have pulled stranded farmers from flood waters in eastern Syria after the Euphrates burst its banks. Among the worst-affected areas was Deir Az Zor, where the flooding caused a bridge collapse and cut-off communities.

At least 17 civilians were killed in an attack by rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). On Tuesday, May 19, the ADF terrorists operated for hours in the Alima locality before moving on to maim locals in the neighbouring villages of Peleki, Manyama and its environs, where houses were set ablaze.

Peresi Mamboro, the coordinator of the Congolese New Civil Society of Babila-Bambomi, commented on the situation, saying, “The casualty figure of the ADF incursion yesterday at 20 hours now stands at 17 dead. The enemy passed in Peleki before burning several houses in Manyama and its environs. This figure is still provisional because the enemy continues to roam as a free electron in the zone.” 

Horror is being visited on several areas of Mambasa territory, and, faced with this situation, civil society is calling on the population to reinforce its vigilance. “We call on the population to be vigilant while denouncing all suspicious movement,” Peresi Mamboro said.

The ADF combatants have been intensifying their attacks in the region and have already crossed the national road number 44 on the Biakato-Mambasa highway, near the hills of Alima village, before dispersing in several directions after the attack.

“After the attack, the assailants broke into two groups. One group returned to the east, passing through the office of the Congolese national police in Alima, while one other group took the direction to the west of Babila-Babombi by passing through Alima stadium avenue,” Zephani Kataliko, a human rights defender in the Babila-Babombi chiefdom, noted.

This recent attack has reignited panic and fear in Mambasa territory, which has also faced a resurgence of violence attributed to the ADF over the past weeks. In several villages, families continue to flee to areas deemed safer, while travel is severely disrupted on certain roads due to fears of rebel ambushes.

Local actors fear that, in the absence of sustained military operations and reinforced control over the movements of armed groups, the ADF may consolidate its presence in the forest zones of Babila-Babombi.

“I am afraid of dying.” From Bukavu to Kinshasa, concern is spreading among residents and street vendors as Ebola cases rise. In cities hundreds of miles apart, people are wearing face masks and calling for stronger protections from the latest outbreak in DR Congo.

The recent Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has resulted in a rising death toll, reaching 118 fatalities on Monday, May 18, which is a significant jump from the 80 deaths recorded just two days earlier. This outbreak is the 17th recorded Ebola virus epidemic in the DRC and has been described as a matter of international emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Patrick Muyaya, the DRC government spokesperson, announced that two additional health zones have been identified as impacted by the virus. These include Nyankunde in the Irumu territory of Ituri province. A suspected case has also emerged in Goma, the chief town of North Kivu.

The outbreak is now affecting multiple geographic areas, including Mongwalu, Rwampara, Bunia, Nyankunde in Ituri, as well as Butembo-Katwa and Goma in North Kivu. 

Butembo, a commercial town in North Kivu, was severely impacted during the Ebola Zaire strain outbreak from 2018 to 2020. Goma, which has been under the control of the M23 rebels since early 2025, serves as a significant regional transit hub on the border with Rwanda and Uganda.

The Bundibugyo Ebola strain, noted as the 17th epidemic in the DRC, was declared on May 15. Complete sequencing of the viral genome confirms that it is a genetically distinct variant from previous Bundibugyo outbreaks in 2007 and 2012, originating directly from an animal reserve, according to Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of the DRC National Institute of Biomedical Research.

On May 17, after the WHO declared the epidemic an international public health emergency, the British organisation Oxfam also estimated that the global number of infections currently stands at 400.

Russia launched more than 1,400 drones and 56 missiles into Ukraine on Wednesday and Thursday.

Much of the onslaught was aimed at the capital Kyiv, days after Russia threatened to do so only if Ukraine attacked its Victory Day parade in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9. It is a major Russian holiday commemorating the end of the Second World War.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had proposed a ceasefire, beginning as early as May 5.

Moscow did not respond until May 7, and presented its peace proposal as a unilateral initiative, accompanied by threats to punish Kyiv if it did not respect its terms.

Moscow said Russian front line units would “launch a massive missile strike” on central Kyiv if attacked.

Forty-three Russian drones and a number of ballistic missiles were launched into Ukraine on May 9, and another 27 drones on May 10. It was not until May 11 that Ukraine had a day of peace.

Moscow justified these attacks as reciprocity for Ukrainian assaults. Kyiv accused Moscow of breaking its own ceasefire.

Once the ceasefire was over, on the night of May 11, Russia launched 216 drones and followed up with a massive strike involving 892 drones overnight on May 12 and during the day on May 13.

The night of May 13-14 was worse with 675 drones accompanied by 56 missiles.

Official Ukrainian reports recorded strikes in at least 20 locations in the capital, including a nine-storey apartment building where 12 people were killed in the collapse.

“These are ordinary residential buildings, a school, a veterinary clinic, and other purely civilian infrastructure,” wrote Zelenskyy on his Telegram messaging channel. “These are definitely not the actions of those who believe that the war is coming to an end.”

Throughout the week, Ukraine said it shot down 92 percent of the 1,930 drones launched, close to Zelenskyy’s 95 percent kill target, with 41 out of 57 missiles downed.

Russia’s army slows down

Russia’s onslaught of came as its armies in eastern Ukraine slowed down.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, estimated they had advanced by an average of 2.9 sq km (1.1 sq miles) in the first four months of 2026, compared with 9.76 sq km (3.76 sq miles) a day in the first third of 2025 and 14.9 sq km (5.8 sq miles) a day between October 2024 and March 2025.

Two weeks into May, that daily average had already dropped to 2.63 sq km (1 sq mile), suggesting Russia’s advance is slowing almost daily.

The ISW recently estimated that Ukraine made net territorial gains of 116 sq km (45 sq miles) in April – its first such advance since a September 2023 counteroffensive.

Some of that success is attributed to Ukraine’s successful use of drones behind the front lines.

On May 8, the Azov Corps of Ukraine’s National Guard announced it had “returned to Mariupol”, four years almost to the day since it surrendered control of the city to Russian forces.

The Corps filmed drone strikes on Russian diesel tankers, army trucks and other logistics 160 km (99 miles) behind the front line along the T-0509 highway, which feeds the Russian war effort in the Donetsk region.

“The strike depth will increase,” said the Azov Corps.

Their strikes are part of a broader Ukrainian campaign to hit Russian logistics at middle ranges of about 120-150 km (75-90 miles) from the front line as announced by Zelenskyy at the end of April.

“This primarily involves military logistics, enemy warehouses and headquarters, air defence systems and other components,” he said, adding that Ukraine had increased its strikes at this depth five-fold during the past year.

“We’re already carrying out about five thousand successful strikes at a depth of 20 plus km (12 miles) every month,” said Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov this week.

Also this week, a Russian military reporter said Ukrainian Hornet drones were targeting Russian logistics on roads closer to the frontlines.

“Although the front line is more than 35 km away from the M-30, it is currently paralysed due to enemy [First Person View drone] surveillance,” wrote the Russian reporter.

“In 2014-2015 the front line was closer, but the M-30 was safer,” he added. “This is because many people think that if the front line moves away from large cities and logistics routes they become safer, but for some reason no one takes into account that the range of enemy drones, even FPV surveillance, increases more rapidly relative to the movement of the front line.”

Russia’s declining performance is not due to lack of effort.

“The enemy has intensified offensive actions along almost the entire front and is regrouping its troops,” said Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskii on May 8. “The most tense area is currently the Pokrovsk direction, where the Russian aggressor has concentrated about 106,000 personnel,” he said.

Since March, Ukraine has increased strikes against Russian oil infrastructure as many as 1,700 km (1,056 miles) inside Russia, in an effort to starve its war machine of diesel and export revenue.

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, said the Ukraine Security Service (SBU) hit the Yaroslavl oil refinery and Perm oil pumping station on May 8 – Perm sends oil in four directions across Russia to refineries and export terminals.

Russian media reports said the fire from a previous strike on the pumping station was not put out until May 11.

The SBU also said it hit the Perm refinery that day.

During the week, Ukrainian forces struck drone bases and a radar research centre in Rostov-on-Don, the Bryansk chemical plant, an explosives warehouse in Nizhny Novgorod and other targets.

Fedorov on Monday thanked Germany for investing $1bn in Ukraine’s deep strike capabilities, when his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, visited Kyiv.

“Overall, Ukraine’s positions right now – on the front line, in our long-range sanctions, and in our joint results with partners – are the strongest they have been in years,” said Zelenskyy.