BENI, Congo (AP) — An official in eastern Congo says more than a dozen people have been killed by rebels in the latest attack near the city of Beni, where outraged residents this week stormed a United Nations base to demand protection.

Beni territory administrator Donat Kibwana said Wednesday the attack in Oicha took place overnight. He blamed the Uganda-based Allied Democratic Forces rebels, who have killed more than 1,500 people in and around Beni in the past four years.

This week’s protests in Beni have turned deadly while disrupting crucial efforts to contain the yearlong Ebola virus outbreak in the region.

Civil society spokesman Ghislain Muhiwa asserts that three protesters have been killed by police this week and four others killed by U.N. peacekeepers trying to disperse the crowds.