Disease

Aid Workers Murdered in Guinea

The bodies of 8 health workers, local officials and journalists were found in a septic tank in a village school near the city of Nzerekore, murdered by villagers suspicious of official attempts to combat Ebola, which has now killed more than 2,600 people in West Africa. Other nations infected with the outbreak have begun controversial programs aimed at stopping the spread of the disease, including a three-day curfew in Sierra Leone.

The aid team was pelted with stones after they arrived in the village of Wome in southern Guinea, where the outbreak was first recorded, and ended up hiding. A journalist who escaped the attack reported that she could hear the villagers looking for the team while she was hiding.

A government delegation was dispatched to the region, but they were unable to reach the village by road because the main bridge had been blocked. Government spokesman Albert Damantang Camara said the victims had been "killed in cold blood by the villagers".

Six people have been arrested in conjunction with the attack, and the village is reportedly now deserted. A motive for the killings has not been confirmed, but officials say many villagers accuse the health workers of spreading the disease and others do not believe the disease exists.