Bunia: Health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have initiated a strike to demand their unpaid salaries and bonuses, halting response activities to the rapidly spreading Ebola virus, a local official stated Thursday. The strike commenced early Wednesday at an Ebola treatment center in Bunia, the capital of the eastern Ituri province and the epicenter of the current outbreak, where protesters erected barricades and set tires on fire around the health facility, according to Eugene Luyeye, a local official. According to Anadolu Agency, the protesters have been working for several weeks without receiving their salaries and bonuses, despite being exposed to the virus daily, the official conveyed to reporters in Bunia. Social media footage depicted frontline workers, including hygiene workers, surveillance officers, sensitizers, and other responders, holding banners, blowing whistles, and chanting slogans, demanding their due payments. A protester remarked, "We risk our lives every day to save the popul ation, but we are abandoned. We work without being paid while our families suffer. We are simply asking that our rights be respected." This strike follows another in nearby Rwampara, where healthcare workers expressed similar grievances, as reported by local media. The strike emerged approximately two weeks after the country's Health Minister, Roger Kamba, assured that arrangements were underway for paying health workers engaged in the Ebola response during his last visit to Bunia. Protesters also demanded the provision of personal protective equipment to minimize exposure, giving the government a 72-hour ultimatum to meet their demands. Health authorities in Congo have been combating the current Ebola outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, since May 15. The latest update on Wednesday indicated that confirmed Ebola cases in the country have reached 2,011, with 754 fatalities. The epidemic has affected five provinces, including Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo, and Haut-Uele. Isaac Nyakulinda, a civ il society leader in Rwampara, Ituri, voiced concern about the strike's impact on disease surveillance, patient care, and other crucial interventions needed to contain the virus's spread.