Italy’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Luca Attanasio, was killed in Goma in the eastern North Kivu Province on Monday, after a United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) convoy he was travelling with was part of an attempted kidnapping.
Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs Luigi Di Maio released a statement that read: “Two servants of the State who have been violently snatched from us in the performance of their duty. The circumstances of this brutal attack are still unclear and no effort will be spared to shed light on what happened. Today, the State mourns the loss of two exemplary sons and stands by their families and their friends and colleagues at the Foreign Ministry and in the Carabinieri Corps.”
North Kivu Governor Carly Nzanzu Kasivita confirmed, “Luca Attanasio and the other two were the targets of the armed gangs that scour this area.”
At this stage, it is not clear who was behind the attack, but the country is widely acknowledged as a hotbed for militant activity, particularly in the eastern region. In fact, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO, has been active in the country since 1999, despite the Second Congo War ending back in 2003. It currently has 17,000 troops in the country.
Attanasio had been in Kinshasa since 2017 after becoming a diplomat in 2003, and previously served in Switzerland, Morocco, and Nigeria. The Ambassador’s bodyguard, Vittori Iocovacci, and a WFP driver (name unknown) were also killed in the attack. The convoy was en route to Rutshuru as part of the WFP’s routine “school feeding programmes”. Four others in the convoy sustained injuries but were taken to a hospital and survived the attack.
The incident has raised alarm about the security situation in the country, given that the road they were travelling on had been ‘cleared’ for travel without the use of security escorts. Just three years ago, two British citizens were kidnapped by armed militia in the same area. Over 2,000 civilians were killed in eastern Congo last year, and the situation has not calmed down in the new year. Just last month, at least 21 civilians were killed in an attack by Islamist rebels.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Mario Draghi have expressed their condolences, while European Union (EU) Commission spokesperson Nabila Massrali said, “The news [is] extremely worrying, and we are following the situation closely with the EU delegation in Congo.”
Meanwhile, DRC Foreign Minister Marie Tumba Nzeza said, “I promise the Italian government that the government of my country we will do all we can to discover who is responsible for this ignoble murder.” However, experts have raised suspicion about the ability or willingness of the DRC government to hold perpetrators of violence accountable, given that the murderers of two UN consultants who were killed in 2017 have yet to be sentenced.
In January 2019, DRC President Félix Tshisekedi was sworn into office in what was the first peaceful transfer of power in the country since independence in 1960. However, the murder of the Italian ambassador to the country has made it clear that this has done little to stymie instability and violence in the country.
Italian Ambassador to DRC Killed in Kidnapping Attempt on UN WFP Convoy
The incident has raised alarm about the security situation in the country, given that the road they were travelling on had been ‘cleared’ for travel without the use of security escorts.
February 23, 2021
Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo Luca Attanasio SOURCE: NATIONAL ACCORD