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Kenyan protest against US quarantine center turns violent, one injured
🇨🇭 Switzerland /Culture & Society

Kenyan protest against US quarantine center turns violent, one injured

From Le Temps · () French

Translated from French, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A man protesting the construction of a U.S. quarantine center for Ebola-risk Americans was critically injured by a gunshot to the head in Kenya.
  • The protest in Nanyuki escalated into clashes with police, who used tear gas and fired shots, injuring at least two demonstrators.
  • Local residents fear the center will bring the highly contagious Ebola virus to Kenya, despite the country having no Ebola cases and no shared border with the Democratic Republic of Congo where the outbreak is occurring.

A protest against a U.S.-funded Ebola quarantine center in Kenya turned violent Tuesday, leaving one demonstrator critically injured by a gunshot to the head. The incident occurred in Nanyuki, a town near the Laikipia air base where the center is under construction.

The facility is intended to house American citizens exposed to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, local Kenyans expressed fear that the center would introduce the highly contagious disease into their country, which has no reported Ebola cases and no border with the DRC.

During the demonstration, hundreds of protesters gathered, some burning tires and throwing stones at police. Officers responded with tear gas and live ammunition. An AFP journalist witnessed a man bleeding heavily from the skull after being shot, and another protester was injured by tear gas. Kenyan Red Cross confirmed the second injury.

Police in Kenya face frequent criticism for excessive force. "They are bringing a virus into our country," one protester, Zipporah Wachira, 30, stated. The World Health Organization has reported over 550 confirmed Ebola cases in the DRC, with 101 deaths, and cases in neighboring Uganda.

They are bringing a virus into our country

— Zipporah WachiraA 30-year-old protester explaining the fears driving the demonstration against the U.S. quarantine center.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Le Temps in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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