Italian Ambassador to DRC killed in an attack on UN Convoy

Italy’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Luca Attanasio an Italian policeman, and their Congolese driver were killed in an attack on a United Nations convoy in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday 22nd Fenruary 2021.

The 43 year old ambassador and others were a part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission (MONUSCO) convoy in Easter DRC. Italian President Sergio Mattarella condemned the “cowardly attack” and offered deepest sympathy and solidarity to the family of the victims

Italuan Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio who was in an EU meeting in Brussels expressed his “great dismay and immense sorrow” over the incident.

Reports say the attack happened as the UN convoy was on its way to visit a World Food Program project in Eastern Congo.

Attanasio joined the diplomatic service in 2003 and served previously in Switzerland, Morocco and Nigeria before going to DRC in 2017. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident.