CONAKRY, Guinea, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- A team of health care workers in Guinea were murdered as they tried to raise awareness about the deadly Ebola virus.
Although the motive is unconfirmed, the BBC reported that some villagers believe that healthcare workers are spreading the Ebola virus while others still doubt the disease's existence.
The attack occurred Tuesday when the delegation arrived in the village of Wome, with villagers responding violently to their presence. Delegation members, including doctors and journalists, were assaulted with machetes and clubs.
Eight members of the delegation were "killed in cold blood by the villagers," said government spokesman Albert Damantang Camara.
Police arrested six people in connection with the deadly attack. Residents have reportedly deserted the village.
Some 2,600 people have already died form the Ebola virus in the past nine months, with the vast majority of the deaths in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.