NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — Two people died during protests over a contested Ebola quarantine centre for United States (US) citizens in Kenya, a rights group said Tuesday, as President William Ruto defended the planned centre.

The US-built facility at Kenya’s Laikipia Air Base was due to open last week, according to US officials, to quarantine Americans arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is battling a major Ebola outbreak.

The centre — about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the capital Nairobi — was set to have 50 isolation beds and be managed by US medical staff.