The ambassador, Luca Attanasio

  • The death of Ambassador Luca Attanasio, political reactions.

    Pain in his hometown

  • Death Attanasio, Zoro: "I met him, he was prepared and aware"

  • Congo, the ambassador and the carabiniere "taken to the forest and killed"

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February 23, 2021 In the dynamic that yesterday led to the death of the Italian ambassador in Kinshasa, Luca Attanasio, of the carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci, and of their Congolese driver Mustapha Milambo, there are some established facts and several doubts that the investigators will try to resolve. The ambassador had already arrived in Goma last Friday, reports a statement from the Congolese presidency. "The ambassador arrived in Goma on Friday 19 February 2021 at 10:30 am aboard the Monusco jet registered 5Y / Sim. At 09:27 on Monday 22 February", it is added, "a convoy of two vehicles from the World Food Program 'Pam' left Goma for the municipality of Kiwanja, in the territory of Rutshuru ".


According to the testimonies collected by local sources, the UN convoy in which they were traveling was made up of two cars of the World Food Program (WFP) and seven people, four Congolese and three Italians.

In addition to Attanasio and Iacovacci, the third Italian involved in the ambush - Rocco Leone, deputy director of WFP in Kinshasa - is in good condition, having only sustained minor injuries.

The other three who are missing are Congolese citizens who have been kidnapped by the commando.

"The members of the convoy, seven people including Athanasius, were first blocked and taken into the bush by attackers who spoke in Kinyarwanda, before being killed by the attackers themselves, during a firefight between the latter and a group of patrolling forest guards. in the area, with the support of soldiers from the Congolese armed forces ".

This reconstruction provided to InfoAfrica by a local source corresponds in part to that released in a statement by the Congolese Ministry of the Interior.

But the picture is far from clear and the exchanges of accusations between the parties involved confirm the complexity and instability of the scenario.



The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Antoine

Tshisekedi Tshilombo, decided to send his representative to Rome today to deliver a personal letter to Prime Minister

Mario Draghi, and sent a team to Goma to support the investigations on the ground.



The exchange of accusations

Yesterday afternoon the Congolese government accused "elements" of the FDLR of the ambush.

The rebel group established bases in North Kivu after the 1994 Rwandan genocide and remains an opposition force against both the Kinshasa and Kigali executives, installed after the massacres 27 years ago mostly with support of Tutsi fighters.


But

the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (Fdlr) denied their involvement in a statement

, pointing the finger at elements of the Congolese and Rwandan armies.

In the area of ​​the Virunga mountains, between Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, many rebel groups operate which often target the rangers of the park, famous for its mountain gorillas.



An envoy of President Tshisekedi today in Rome, letter to Draghi

Tshisekedi said he was dismayed by what had happened and condemned "this terrorist attack", ensuring the utmost commitment "to shed full light on the matter" and "bring those responsible to justice". According to an initial reconstruction made by the Congolese authorities, reported by the cas-info site, "the attackers, six of them, were armed with 5 AK47 type machine guns and a machete. They fired warning shots before forcing the occupants of the vehicles to get off and follow them to the end of the park, after having shot one of the drivers to create panic ".

With the arrival of the park guards and the soldiers present in the surrounding area, a shooting was triggered.

The armed commando would have shot point blank at the carabiniere, who died on the spot, and at the ambassador wounding him in the abdomen.

The latter died an hour later in the hospital of the Monusco mission in Goma. "An investigation is already underway to clarify the circumstances, the responsibilities and to take repressive actions related to this tragedy", the government announced.

"The Presidency of the Republic undertakes to regularly take stock of the progress of the investigations just launched at the initiative of the President of the Republic.



The dynamics of the

ambush According to what has been reconstructed by various sources, around 10.15, near Kibumba, a commando of six armed men fired warning shots at the first of the two jeeps of the convoy, in which ambassador Attanasio and carabiniere Iacovacci were traveling. The driver, Mustapha Milambo, is killed, while Attanasio and Iacovacci, probably wounded, are taken to the forest. Shortly afterwards, a patrol from the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation intervenes together with a unit of the Congolese army, who were in the area. In the fire fight with the Virunga rangers, Attanasio is killed and the commando flees taking Iacovacci with him but after a kilometer and a half kills the carabiniere, leaving behind the body that is found by the soldiers.   



If the dynamics seem clear, pending further elements on the responsibilities, the other obscure point concerns the absence of an armed guard in the convoy, apart from the presence of the carabiniere.

The fact that the local police officer said he was not aware of the ambassador's move to the area, "in such a dangerous area, has raised surprise and many questions", the local source said.

Consequently, what would be the reasons that prompted the ambassador's convoy to enter an area - along the road from Goma to Rutshuru - potentially dangerous without an escort?

In a statement, WFP claimed that the attack "took place on a road that had previously been declared safe for travel without safety escorts."

A statement that apparently contrasts with the statements from the Congolese side.

Certainly, Ambassador Attanasio was not new to these areas and knew the pitfalls.

He had already been to Kivu, and in recent days he had stayed in Bukavu, before returning by boat to Goma.



The Rwandan Forces deny any responsibility

The Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (Fdlr) deny responsibility for the attack in Congo.

This is what we read in one of their press releases, taken up on social media, in which they "strongly condemn" the attack and "categorically reject" the accusations of the Kinshasa authorities, declaring "not to be involved at all" in the affair and "asking the Congolese authorities and the UN Monusco mission to shed light on the responsibilities of this ignoble assassination ".

According to Fdlr, the attack occurred "not far" from patrols of the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"The FDLRs extend their condolences to the families of the victims, the government and the Italian people", concludes the note.



D'Incà, Di Maio will report to the Chambers in the next few hours

Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio will report "in the next few hours or at the latest tomorrow" in Parliament on the death of Luca Attanasio and of the carabiniere Iacovacci: this was assured in the Chamber of the Minister for Relations with Parliament Federico D'Incà, renewing "the condolences of the government".

"We will answer the questions with the utmost clarity", he assured.



Flags at half mast as a sign of mourning

The Presidency of the Council of Ministers has arranged, for yesterday and today, to display the Italian flag and the European flag at half mast on the public buildings of the Constitutional Bodies and Ministries , as a sign of mourning for the tragic death of the Ambassador of Italy to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, and of the carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci, following the cowardly attack that took place today in Goma.





The Ros in Kinshasa for investigations

A team of investigators from the Ros, delegated by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Rome, left for Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to support local investigators in investigations relating to the death of the Italian ambassador, Luca Attanasio, and of the carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci.

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



The Rome Prosecutor's Office opens an investigation

The Rome Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation file in relation to the death of the Italian ambassador to Congo, Luca Attanasio, and of the carabiniere Vittorio 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.