Tue Jan 28 17:22:01 IST 2025: ## Ebola Samples at Risk as Fighting Intensifies in Goma, DR Congo

**Geneva/Goma, DR Congo —** The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has raised serious concerns about the safety of Ebola and other pathogen samples stored at a Goma laboratory amid escalating conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Fighting between the M23 rebel group and Congolese forces, which intensified Sunday with the entry of fighters into the city center, threatens the integrity of the national biomedical research institute’s laboratory.

ICRC regional director for Africa, Patrick Youssef, warned of “unimaginable consequences” should power outages or damage to the facility lead to the release of the samples. The laboratory’s proximity to the ICRC delegation in Goma adds to the urgency of the situation, though the ICRC lacks information on the safety of other labs in the city.

The conflict has also caused a humanitarian crisis. Over 600 wounded individuals, nearly half of them civilians, many women and children, have been treated at ICRC-supported facilities in Goma since the start of the month. The influx of wounded, arriving with gunshot and shrapnel injuries, has overwhelmed resources, with patients forced to lie on the floor due to lack of space. The ICRC reports receiving numerous calls from injured individuals left without assistance.

The ongoing violence, fueled by decades of conflict and regional rivalries, has displaced an estimated half a million people since the beginning of the year, adding to the approximately 700,000 internally displaced persons already residing in Goma, a city of one million near the Rwandan border. The ICRC is appealing for an immediate de-escalation of hostilities to protect civilians and prevent a potential public health catastrophe.

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