Italian ambassador to DR Congo killed in UN convoy attack

italian

Italy’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo has been killed in an attack in the east of the country, its foreign ministry has said. Luca Attanasio, 43, died in hospital on Monday after the United Nations convoy he was travelling in came under fire near Goma, a statement said. The convoy reportedly belonged to the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP). An Italian military police officer travelling with the envoy and a Congolese driver were also killed. “It is with deep sadness that the foreign ministry confirms the death, today in Goma, of the Italian ambassador,” the ministry’s statement said. On patrol: Night vision in DR Congo. The attack in North Kivu province is believed to have been an attempted kidnapping, according to officials at the nearby Virunga National Park. Mr Attanasio was a passenger in one of two vehicles travelling about 15km (nine miles) north of Goma when the attack happened on Monday morning. The vehicles were “ambushed by a group of six attackers, who fired warning shots before taking all the passengers into the Virunga National Park”, the governor of North Kivu province, Carly Nzanzu, told the BBC.(BBC)…[+]