Eight Bodies Found After Villagers Attack Ebola Health Workers In Guinea

Angry residents in a remote village of Guinea reportedly attacked health workers treating the Ebola epidemic this week, and police have found eight bodies they believe are connected to the attack.

Six health care workers went missing earlier this week while visiting the remote village of Womey to promote health habits that would prevent the spread of the Ebola virus. The group of six included three journalists, two senior doctors and the director of the local hospital.

A local of the Womey village told The Guardian that although the meeting between village elders and the foreign health workers initially went well, the six aid workers were later attacked after the meeting. Rural parts of Africa still remain skeptical of the spreading virus and foreign health care workers.

"The meeting started off well; the traditional chiefs welcomed the delegation with 10 kola nuts as a traditional greeting," the local resident, who went by the name Yves, told the media outlet. "It was afterwards that some youths came out and started stoning them. They dragged some of them away, and damaged their vehicles."

A Guinea government spokesperson confirmed to media outlets on Thursday that the bodies of the six foreign aid workers, along with two others, were discovered in the village latrine. Some of the bodies reportedly had their throats slit.

The growing epidemic of Ebola has called on the World Health Organization to request help by international governments. This week, France's President Francoise Hollande said his country would be setting up a military hospital in Guinea to combat the spreading disease.

"I have made a decision to set up a military hospital in the forest area of Guinea in the next few days, in the epicenter of the outbreak," Hollande said.