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Attack in Congo, the Italian ambassador Luca Attanasio and a carabiniere died

2021-02-22T16:34:27.022Z


The diplomat Luca Attanasio and the soldier Vittorio Iacovacci, who was in the same convoy, died. There is a third victim, the driver. According to initial information, the attack took place on the route between Goma and Bukavu by a terrorist commando that used small arms. On the dynamics and motive underway investigations. For the media, 'attempted kidnapping'. The condolences of Mattarella, Draghi and the government. The pain of the Farnesina and Di Maio (ANSA)


Attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo where the

Italian ambassador Luca Attanasio and the 

carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci,

who was in the convoy with the diplomat,

were killed

.

The soldier was 30 years old, he was on duty at the Italian embassy from September 2020.

The attack took place on the route between Goma and Bukavu by, according to preliminary information, a terrorist commando that

used small arms

.

Investigations are still underway on the dynamics and the motive

.

A Congolese driver, Mustapha Milambo, is the third victim of the attack

in the eastern province of North-Kivu, reveals a diplomatic source in Kinshasa.

The ambassador

,

adds the source,

died after being shot in the abdomen and arrived at the hospital in Goma in critical condition

.

"The Congo Armed Forces are doing everything possible to find out who the perpetrators are", which took place north of Goma.

The North Kivu region is the scene of the action of dozens of armed groups vying for natural resources and is home to the Virunga Park, famous for its mountain gorillas and guarded by 628 armed rangers.

The attack was a

'kidnapping attempt', 

Virunga National Park rangers reveal, cited by various media outlets including the Jerusalem Post.

The attack took place around 10 (9 am Italian). 

"I promise the Italian government that the executive of my country will do everything" necessary "to

find out who is at the origin of this ignoble crime"

: said the

Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs

, Marie Tumba Nzeza, as reported by the Actualite.cd website.

"It is with great pain and sadness that we have just learned of the death of the young Italian ambassador to the DRC in a WFP convoy", said the minister. 

According to investigating sources,

men from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda

could be

responsible for the

armed

assault

in Congo in which the Italian ambassador, a carabiniere and the Congolose driver died

: the Fdlr-Foca is the main residual group of Rwandan rebels of Hutu ethnicity, known for the genocide in Rwanda.

This is the prevailing hypothesis, although not the only one, also favored by the police forces and local authorities.

The

Rome Public Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation file

in relation to the death of Ambassador Attanasio and the Carabiniere Iacovacci.

The proceeding, coordinated by the chief prosecutor Michele Prestipino, involves kidnapping for the purpose of terrorism.

The Capitoline magistrates, who are competent for crimes committed abroad and which have Italian citizens as victims, have delegated the investigations to the carabinieri of the Ros.

A team of investigators from the Ros

, delegated by the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office,

will leave tomorrow for Kinshasa, the

capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to support local investigators in investigations relating to the death of the ambassador and the carabiniere.

The public pros of piazzale Clodio will therefore wait for a first report on what has happened. 

THE REACTIONS, THE COBEING

A message of condolence came from the President of the Republic

Sergio Mattarella

 to Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio: "I received with dismay the news of the cowardly attack that a few hours ago hit an international convoy near the city of Goma, killing Ambassador Luca Attanasio, the carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver. The Italian Republic is in mourning for these servants of the state who lost their lives in the fulfillment of their professional duties in the Democratic Republic of Congo. ". 

Foreign Minister

Luigi Di Maio

, after informing his EU colleagues of the tragic event, expressing all his sorrow for the death of our ambassador in Congo and the carabiniere,

has decided to leave the work of the EWC early and is returning in these hours in Italy

.

"I learned with dismay and immense pain of the death today of our Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and of a soldier of the Carabinieri - said Di Maio -. Two servants of the state who were violently torn from us in the fulfillment of their duty. The circumstances of this brutal attack are not yet known and no effort will be spared to shed light on what happened. Today the State mourns the loss of two of its exemplary children and gathers around families, their friends and colleagues at the Farnesina and in the Carabinieri ".

"Today is a dark and very sad day for our country. I will report to Parliament as soon as possible to clarify what happened", wrote the Foreign Minister on Fb.

Deep condolences of the Government and its expressed by the Prime Minister,

Mario Draghi,

for the tragic death of Luca Attanasio, Ambassador of Italy in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and of Vittorio Iacovacci, appointed by the Carabinieri who accompanied him on board a convoy to Goma

.

The Prime Minister and the Government cling to family members, colleagues from the Farnesina and the Carabinieri.

This was stated in a note from Palazzo Chigi.

The Prime Minister is following developments in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the utmost attention.

Source: ansa

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