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Ebola outbreak: Guinea health team killed | |
(about 14 hours later) | |
Eight members of a team trying to raise awareness about Ebola have been killed by villagers using machetes and clubs in Guinea, officials say. | |
Some of the bodies - of health workers, local officials and journalists - were found in a septic tank in a village school near the city of Nzerekore. | |
Correspondents say many villagers are suspicious of official attempts to combat the disease. | |
More than 2,600 people have now died from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. | More than 2,600 people have now died from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. |
It is the world's worst outbreak of Ebola, with officials warning that more than 20,000 people could ultimately be infected. | |
Neighbouring Sierra Leone has begun a controversial three-day curfew to try to stop the spread of the disease. | |
The team disappeared after being pelted with stones by residents when they arrived in the village of Wome - in southern Guinea, where the Ebola outbreak was first recorded. | |
A journalist who managed to escape told reporters that she could hear villagers looking for them while she was hiding. | |
A government delegation, led by the health minister, had been dispatched to the region but they were unable to reach the village by road because a main bridge had been blocked. | A government delegation, led by the health minister, had been dispatched to the region but they were unable to reach the village by road because a main bridge had been blocked. |
'Killed in cold blood' | 'Killed in cold blood' |
On Thursday night, government spokesman Albert Damantang Camara said the victims had been "killed in cold blood by the villagers". | |
The bodies showed signs of being attacked with machetes and clubs, officials say. | |
Six people have been arrested and the village is now reportedly deserted. | |
The motive for the killings has not been confirmed, but the BBC's Makeme Bamba in Guinea's capital, Conakry, says many villagers accuse the health workers of spreading the disease. | |
Others still do not believe that the disease exists. | |
Last month, riots erupted in Nzerekore, 50 km (30 miles) from Wome, after rumours that medics who were disinfecting a market were contaminating people. | |
Speaking on Thursday, French President Francois Hollande said France was setting up a military hospital in Guinea as part of his country's efforts to support the West African nations affected by the outbreak. | |
He said the hospital was a sign that France's contribution was not just financial, adding that it would be in "the forests of Guinea, in the heart of the outbreak". | He said the hospital was a sign that France's contribution was not just financial, adding that it would be in "the forests of Guinea, in the heart of the outbreak". |
The World Health Organization said on Thursday that more than 700 new cases of Ebola have emerged in West Africa in just a week, showing that the outbreak was accelerating. | |
It said there had been more than 5,300 cases in total and that half of those were recorded in the past three weeks. | It said there had been more than 5,300 cases in total and that half of those were recorded in the past three weeks. |
The epidemic has struck Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal. | The epidemic has struck Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal. |
A three-day lockdown is underway in Sierra Leone in a bid to stop the disease spreading. | |
Ebola virus disease (EVD) | Ebola virus disease (EVD) |
Press divided on response to Ebola | Press divided on response to Ebola |
Ebola: Mapping the outbreak | Ebola: Mapping the outbreak |
How bad can it get? | How bad can it get? |
'Biological war': A week on the Ebola frontline | 'Biological war': A week on the Ebola frontline |
Have you been affected by the Ebola outbreak? You can send us your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk | Have you been affected by the Ebola outbreak? You can send us your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk |