Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 08:00 am
The Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo has been killed in Goma, Italy’s foreign ministry has said. Italy’s ambassador to the DRC, an Italian policeman and their Congolese driver have been killed in an ambush on a United Nations convoy in eastern DRC.
According to local Congolese media, the ambush that killed the ambassador took place on Monday as a convoy of Ambassador Luca Attanasio was traveling from Goma to visit the World Food Program (WFP) feeding program in Rutshuru. According to the United Nations, several other passengers with the delegation were injured during the attack, but the ambassador was confirmed dead.
“It is with great sadness that Farnesina confirms the deaths today of the Italian Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo Luca Attanasio and a Carabinieri soldier,” a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of DRC’s killing ambassador blamed “members of the Forces Democratic Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)” – the front Rutuda of opposition Hutu in the eastern region for more than a quarter of a century, but the team will certainly denied to following the assassination of the ambassador and his entourage.
However, relations between the two countries have been severely damaged. The group accused of the killings has distanced itself from the case and has denied the allegations. “The FDLR declares that it is not involved in any of these attacks,” the group said in a statement. The FDLR instead blamed the Rwandan army and the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) for the attack.
A security meeting of the security officials said the perpetrators of the cowardly killings were being tracked down. Christian Bushiri, senior adviser to President Felix Tshisekedi visited the family of Congolese driver Mustafa killed in an ambush. He said such massacres would not happen again to families and that the perpetrators would be prosecuted.
