NAIROBI, June 3 - Around 20 flights carrying medical equipment and specialist staff have landed at a base in Kenya where the U.S. government is continuing to build an Ebola quarantine facility despite protests and Kenyan court orders blocking it, according to flight data and officials.

At least two people have been killed in protests in the central Kenyan town of Nanyuki, home to the Kenyan air force base where the U.S. military is building a 50-bed unit for Americans who might be exposed to the virus, which has infected hundreds in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

A U.S. diplomatic cable, part of which was seen by Reuters, said Kenya’s President William Ruto may have underestimated domestic opposition to the plan, which has triggered criticism the U.S. is offloading the risk of caring for its own patients.

A Kenyan court first ordered work on the Ebola facility to be suspended on May 28, yet U.S. military flights into Nanyuki continued in the days that followed, according to data from flight-tracking service Flightradar24.

The data showed at least six military aircraft, including C-130 and C-17 transport planes, had landed in Nanyuki since May 24, with three landing after the court order.

The planes have brought in technical equipment as well as dozens of physicians, engineers, lab experts and construction workers, but no patients, according to a U.S. official, who asked not to be identified.

The U.S. embassy in Nairobi said on Wednesday it was aware of the court action and it was “working with the Kenyan government to resolve any objections”.

Ruto has defended approving the facility, telling reporters on Monday: "We are a responsible government. We know what we are doing." He did not comment on the court order.

EVERYONE IN, EXCEPT THE PATIENTS

Around 20 flights had landed between May 23 and May 31, according to the U.S. official and another source with direct knowledge of the matter.

“They have got every...