He was one of the youngest Italian ambassadors in the world. Luca Attanasio, a diplomatic representative in Congo, was killed along with Vittorio Iacovacci, a soldier of the Carabinieri, around nine in the Italian morning in the town of Kanyamahoro. They were part of a UN convoy.
Confirmation of the attack came from the Farnesina and Prime Minister Mario Draghi expressed «profound condolences».
condolences of the President #Mattarella for the death of Ambassador Luca #Attanasio, of the Carabiniere Vittorio #Iacovacci and their driver pic.twitter.com/hqJptje9Kb
– Quirinale (@Quirinale) February 22, 2021
Attanasio, 43, born in Saranno and raised in Limbiate, Lombardy, was married to Zakia Seddiki, founder and president of the humanitarian association Mama Sofia.
The couple has three daughters. The thirty-year-old carabiniere, Vittorio Iacovacci, from Sonnino (Latina), lost his life with him. Attanasio was shot.
They were aboard a car in a convoy of the Monusco, the United Nations Organization Mission for Stabilization in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There is also a third victim. The attack would have been carried out with small arms.
In the area of the Virunga mountains, between Congo, Rwanda and Uganda there are many armed groups. Often they strike the rangers of the park that is home to the mountain gorillas. According to some sources, the militia responsible for the attack would belong to the Rwandan rebels.
It is a dark and sad day for Italy.
We learned with great dismay and immense pain of the death of our Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, and of a soldier of the Carabinieri, Vittorio Iacovacci.
➡️ https://t.co/TPRrNFtz9u– Luigi Di Maio (@luigidimaio) February 22, 2021
A spokesperson for the Virunga National Park he said the attack was part of an attempt to kidnap UN personnel. The Italian diplomat would have been injured and kidnapped. Virunga rangers launched an operation to free him but he died in the transport to the hospital in Goma.
The Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio returned early from Brussels. “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 ».
A few months ago, the Nassyrya Peace Prize 2020 “For his commitment to safeguarding peace among peoples and for having contributed to the realization of important humanitarian projects, distinguishing himself for his altruism, dedication and spirit of service in support of people in difficulty”.
Graduated in 2001 from Bocconi in business administration, he was head of mission in Kinshasa since 5 September 2017. He had worked in the Italian embassies in Switzerland, Morocco and Nigeria. In Congo he also followed some humanitarian projects.
«I received with dismay the news of the cowardly attack that struck an international convoy near the city of Goma a few hours ago, killing Ambassador Luca Attanasio, 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 the Congo ” the message of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella.
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