News that saddens all of Italy and all of us too, a tragic death and apparently without a reason. We too join in the condolences towards the victims of the attack in Congo. The Italian ambassador Luca Attanasio, a carabiniere and a driver lost his life this morning. Attanasio was well known and appreciated for his great humanitarian commitment in this difficult land. Let's try to tell you how the facts happened, based on the information gathered. An investigation is already underway to ascertain the dynamics of the tragic attack.
The Italian ambassador victim of an attempted kidnapping
In addition to Attanasio, the victims of this terrible attack are also the thirty-year-old carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci, who has been serving at the Italian embassy since September 2020. The two together with their driver, who also died, were in a car on a stretch of road between Goma and Bukavu. They were in a MONUSCO convoy, the United Nations stabilization mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They were victims of a terrorist commando that used small arms. Attanasio died on arrival at the hospital in Goma. Already critical of his condition, having been shot in the abdomen. And it is speculated that behind the attack there may be a "kidnapping attempt".
Who was the Italian ambassador Luca Attanasio
Luca Attanasio was very young, he was 43 years old. One of the youngest Italian diplomats. In 2020 he received the International Award Nassiriya for Peace "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". Engaged in embassies in Switzerland, Morocco and Nigeria, since 2017 he was head of mission in Kinshasa, Congo. He was carrying out numerous humanitarian projects alongside the approximately one thousand Italian citizens currently residing in the area.
The investigations
Meanwhile, an investigation has been opened on the death of the Italian ambassador and the other two victims. For Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs Marie Tumba Nzeza everything possible will be done "to find out who is at the origin of this ignoble crime". A file also opened by the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office. Proceedings are carried out for kidnapping for the purpose of terrorism.
The condolences of the world of politics
The President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella expressed his condolences after the terrible news. "I received the news with dismay - he said - of the cowardly attack that a few hours ago hit an international convoy near the city of Goma. By killing the 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 the Congo.".
"I learned with dismay and immense pain of the death today of our Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and of a carabinieri soldier - affirmed the foreign minister Luigi Di Maio -. Two servants of the state who have been 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". Condolences also from the president of the Mario Draghi Council.
