TRAGIC

Italian Ambassador to Congo Luca Attanasio Killed in Ambush on UN Convoy in DRC

Luca Attanasio and his security detail and driver were killed in an attack on the UN convoy they were traveling with in eastern DRC.

The Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, was killed along with his Italian security officer and driver when unknown assailants ambushed the United Nations World Food Programme convoy they were traveling with on Monday, according to Italy’s Foreign Ministry. Early reports in Italian media suggested the ambush was a kidnapping attempt and that Attanasio was the main target. Armed militant groups are known to operate in the area where the convoy was attacked and park rangers are often killed, including six who died last month in a similar ambush. Attanasio had been stationed in DRC since 2017 and was named ambassador in 2019. “It is with deep sorrow that the foreign ministry confirms the death today in Goma of the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, and of a policemen from the Carabinieri,” the foreign ministry statement said in a statement. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. The World Food Programme in Rome issued a statement saying the convoy was taking Attanasio and a Congolese delegation to visit a school feeding program in Rutshuru when the attack took place.