The head of the World Health Organization has arrived in Congo's capital, Kinshasa, to support efforts against an Ebola outbreak. Medical personnel are struggling with equipment shortages, distrustful populations and armed groups. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized community collaboration. The outbreak of a rare type of Ebola is spreading faster than the response, with 906 suspected cases and 223 deaths. Aid from the EU and the U.S. is arriving. Health workers face challenges due to local burial rites and regional conflicts. The WHO is discouraging travel bans, but the U.S. has imposed a 21-day ban on noncitizens who have visited Congo and two neighboring countries.

Aid supplies have been rushed in to the center of Congo's Ebola outbreak where medical workers are struggling with equipment shortages, distrustful locals and armed groups. On Thursday, a white cargo plane delivered masks, gloves, boots, and medications donated by the European Union to Bunia, a northeastern town at the heart of the outbreak. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a public health emergency. The Congolese government has confirmed over 1,000 suspected cases and at least 220 deaths. The virus has also reached Uganda. The response faces challenges like customs delays, bad roads and weak telecommunications.

A bomb explosion has killed more than 30 people and wounded 20 others in eastern Congo. The blast followed a clash between the Congolese army and a pro-government militia in the town of Sange on Sunday evening. The explosion occurred despite a recent U.S.-brokered peace deal aimed at ending conflict with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group. Residents have fled for safety, with many heading toward Burundi. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has also accused Rwanda of violating the peace agreement. The conflict in mineral-rich eastern Congo has displaced over 7 million people, creating a significant humanitarian crisis.

The Rwanda-backed rebels who captured key areas of Congo's mineral-rich east say they have withdrawn from planned peace talks with the country's government in Angola. A spokesman for the M23 rebel group said the talks scheduled to start in the Angolan capital, Luanda, on Tuesday "have become impracticable" as a result of the sanctions announced by the European Union against some of its members on Monday. Congo's government had said it will participate in the peace talks.

The Rwanda-backed rebels who seized a major city in eastern Congo have declared a unilateral ceasefire, citing humanitarian grounds. But there is no sign of them giving up control of Goma at the heart of a region home to trillions of dollars in mineral wealth. Monday's announcement came after the U.N. said at least 900 people died in last week's fighting between the M23 rebels and Congolese forces. The rebels were then reported to be advancing on another provincial capital, Bukavu. A rebel spokesman says they have "no intention of capturing Bukavu or other areas." There is no immediate comment from Congo's government.

Congolese security forces have tried to slow the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who say they have captured Goma after entering eastern Congo's largest city. U.N. officials reported an unspecified number of bodies on the streets. The officials said Tuesday that hospitals are overwhelmed in Goma. The regional trade and humanitarian hub is a refuge for hundreds of thousands now fleeing gunfire and shelling in the major escalation in one of Africa's longest conflicts. The U.S. is also asking its citizens to safely depart Kinshasa. The M23 rebels are one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich North Kivu province that includes Goma.

Residents in eastern Congo's largest city of Goma are fleeing after Rwanda-backed rebels claimed to have captured the regional hub from Congolese forces. Fighting has escalated in recent days despite calls from the U.N. Security Council for the insurgents to withdraw. Gunshots rang out across Goma overnight before dozens of rebels in military uniform early Monday morning marched into the capital of North Kivu province, which sits on the border with Rwanda. The U.N. Security Council called on the M23 rebels to immediately reverse advances. Other countries including the United States, United Kingdom and France have also condemned the rebel push.