France, June 8 -- "A ceasefire was already a political necessity. Now t has become a health emergency," Hadja Lahbib, EU commissioner for crisis management, told journalists on a visit Sunday to DRC's eastern Ituri province, the epicentre of the current Ebola outbreak.

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak an international health emergency, and the virus continues to spread across central Africa, with nearly 500 confirmed cases.

Efforts to contain the spread have been complicated by the ongoing conflict between the Congolese government and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group. Violence has displaced large numbers of people, forcing them to leave their homes, and disrupting access to healthcare.

DRC faces 'catastrophic co...