About 19,000 displaced people have fled the Kigonze camp in eastern Congo after soldiers entered the site to search for weapons, triggering clashes with militia fighters, Reuters reported on October 1.

The camp has been left effectively abandoned. Health teams had been tracing about 1,000 Ebola contacts there, and only around one in five had been found when the fighting broke out. A transit centre used for screening was burned.

Congo is battling an Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain. Reuters reported 88 cases and 56 deaths in displacement sites, where crowded conditions make the virus hard to contain.

Aid agencies say the flight of residents risks spreading the virus to new areas, since contacts who are no longer being monitored may travel to other towns and camps.

Eastern Congo has been wracked by conflict for decades, and repeated waves of violence have displaced millions. Health officials warn that insecurity remains the biggest obstacle to ending the outbreak.