• The bodies of Attanasio and Iacovacci in Ciampino: the hand of President Draghi on the coffins

  • Flags at half mast for Ambassador Attanasio and Carabiniere Iacovacci killed in Congo

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    The powder magazine of the Virunga park where the Italian ambassador was killed

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

  • Who was Vittorio Iacovacci, the carabiniere killed in the ambush in Congo

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February 24, 2021 "It was heartbreaking to welcome, alongside President Draghi and his family, the bodies of our two compatriots, victims of the cowardly ambush that cut off their young lives and upset those of their loved ones", declared the foreign minister Luigi Di Maio referring to the Chamber on the ambush that cost the lives of Ambassador Luca Attanasio and Carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci.



"The ambassador and the carabiniere relied on the protocol of the United Nations, which took them in charge from Kinshasa, on a plane of the UN mission for the journey to Goma", declared the foreign minister.

"

The mission - he added - took place at the invitation of the United Nations

, therefore, even the journey by car took place within the organizational framework prepared by the world food program".



"What happened once again highlighted the issue of the security of some countries in which our diplomats and military personnel operate. The Farnesina, internally, as part of the constant risk prevention and mitigation activities for diplomatic-consular personnel abroad, classifies the Democratic Republic of Congo in the third risk band (out of 4). 



"Unlike what some press reports reported, I would like to clarify that the

security of

the 

Embassy in Kinshasa is ensured by two Carabinieri on a four-year mission

 - explains Di Maio -, to which are added two carabinieri on a protection mission who alternate regularly for periods of 180 days.

Carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci fell into this second type and for this reason he accompanied the Ambassador to the UN mission in Goma and had the service pistol with him "." The

Embassy in Kinshasa is equipped with two armored cars

, with which the 'Ambassador moved around the city and for missions in the country, always accompanied by at least one guardian carabiniere ", Di Maio underlined." I would also like to clarify that Kinshasa and Goma are about 2,500 km away.

The Ambassador and the Carabiniere therefore entrusted themselves to the United Nations Protocol, which took them in charge from Kinshasa, on a plane of the UN Monusco mission, for the journey to Goma "he explains, adding that" as Chief Mission, Ambassador Luca Attanasio had full power to decide how and where to move within the country.



"The mission took place at the invitation of the United Nations. Therefore, the journey by car also took place within the organizational framework prepared by the World Food Program. For this reason I immediately asked the WFP in Rome and the United Nations, directly involving the Secretary General Guterres, to provide a detailed report on the attack on the World Food Program convoy. United Nations Deputy Secretary General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, announced on Monday the initiation of an investigation by Monusco, the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo ", concluded Di Maio.



Investigations are underway on the dynamics of the incident

"On the dynamics of the ambush" that led to the movement of the Italian ambassador in the Democratic Republic of Congo Luca Attanasio and of the carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci, "investigations are also underway by the Public Prosecutor of Rome".

"A team of our Carabinieri del Ros, delegated by the Public Prosecutor, has already gone to Goma for a first investigative mission. I understand that others will follow", declared Foreign Minister Di Maio.



The ambush

"The convoy - continues Di Maio - was attacked at 10.15 near the village of Kanya Mahoro, near a place called 'Tre Antennas'. The group, made up of 6 elements, would have forced the vehicles to stop placing obstacles on the road and firing some small arms shots in the air. This hypothesis could also be supported by the content of a video in which the initial phases of the event are glimpsed with the shooting of the attackers and people throwing motorcycles and bicycles to the ground with all the load to get away ".



"The Governor of North-Kivu - he adds - confirmed that the six attackers, after firing shots in the air and blocking the convoy, ordered the passengers to get off the vehicles. The sound of the shots alerted the soldiers of the Congolese Armed Forces and Virunga park rangers who, being less than a kilometer away, headed to the site of the event. The Governor added that in order to force their victims to leave the road and enter the bush, the attackers killed the Pam driver ".



You are the attackers

"The governor of North-Kivu confirmed that the six assailants, after firing shots in the air and blocking the convoy, ordered the passengers to get out of the vehicles. The sound of the gunshots alerted the soldiers of the Congolese Armed Forces and the park rangers. Virunga who, being less than a kilometer away, headed to the place of the event ".

Thus the Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio, reconstructs the attack that led to the death of Luca Attanasio and Vittorio Iacovacci in the report to the Chamber.

"The Governor added that in order to force their victims to leave the road and enter the bush, the attackers killed the WFP driver. According to early WFP reconstructions, the attackers would then take the rest of the members into the forest. Not far from the place of the event - added the minister - there was indeed a Ranger patrol from the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature, stationed at the nearby Virunga park and an army unit, which they would have sought to recover the members of the convoy ".



Ambassador Luca Attanasio

"Luca was a young Ambassador in the field, a great connoisseur of the country in which he worked since 2017, a brilliant and passionate official," Di Maio said.

"Being an ambassador is a mission, albeit a risky one. But we must lead by example", said Luca on the occasion of the Nassiria prize that was awarded to him in October - added the Foreign


Minister - He was in love with his profession, with Africa and her family.

He leaves three beautiful little girls and his wife Zakìa, with whom he also shared the commitment of volunteering. " 



Vittorio, a trained carabiniere

Vittorio Iacovacci, the carabiniere who was killed together with Ambassador Luca Attanasio on Monday in the Democratic Republic of Congo, had been" trained by our best special departments "and" sent to protect the Head of Mission ". Luigi Di Maio said this during the briefing, recalling that" Vittorio, on the other hand, wanted to form a family shortly, at the imminent end of his mission in Congo ". 



International solidarity

" The barbaric ambush against our compatriots has generated solidarity and deep emotion in the international partners.

As soon as I heard the news of the attack, I left the Foreign Affairs Council to return to Italy.

In Brussels, I received the unanimous solidarity of my European colleagues and of High Representative Borrell.

I then received a phone call from US Secretary of State Blinken, who expressed the condolences of the American Administration for the loss of an Ambassador who - he told me verbatim - 'worked for democracy, human rights and peace' " , said the foreign minister.