Italian Ambassador Killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

UN vehicle in the North Kivu province. (Wikimedia Commons)

Luca Attanasio, the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), died along with two others during an attack on a UN World Food Programme (WFP) convoy traveling through the province of North Kivu on February 22. Local authorities suspect that the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) carried out the attack, though they deny responsibility.

Attanasio, 43 years old, had served as the ambassador to the DRC since 2019. With a diplomatic career spanning almost two decades, Attanasio stood as one of Italy’s most skilled young diplomats, having received the Nassiriya International Prize for Peace in 2020. Also killed in the attack were Italian carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci, serving as Attanasio’s bodyguard, and Congolese driver Mustapha Milambo, who worked for the WFP.

The DRC’s North Kivu province lies at the heart of the Kivu conflict, a complex and multifaceted armed dispute that has raged since 2004. Tracing its roots back to the perpetrators of the Rwandan Genocide, the FDLR, an armed Hutu group, has long commanded a powerful local fighting force. The conflict has had terrible humanitarian consequences, with nearly five million civilians displaced and two thousand killed last year alone. An extensive UN peacekeeping operation is currently highly active in the region.

The convoy originated in Goma and headed through the notoriously dangerous Virunga National Park to a WFP site in the town of Rutshuru. The convoy, which consisted of two vehicles and seven people, lacked a security escort. 

Six armed insurgents attacked the convoy on the morning of February 22 and attempted to kidnap the ambassador. A gunfight ensued, killing Milambo and forcing the rest of the party into a nearby forest, where exchanges with Virunga park rangers killed Iacovacci and critically wounded Attanasio. Transported to a UN field hospital in Goma, Attanasio succumbed to his wounds shortly thereafter. 

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi immediately requested a UN investigation into the affair. Both the Italian and Congolese governments have separate inquiries of their own. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio claimed that “the circumstances of this brutal attack are still unclear” but assured the public that “no effort will be spared to shed light on what happened,” while Congolese Foreign Minister Ntumba Nzenza vowed “that the government of [her] country will do everything possible to find out who was behind this despicable murder.” However, local authorities in the DRC have accused the FDLR of orchestrating the killings without citing evidence. The FDLR has denied any responsibility for the attack.

Attanasio and Iacovacci’s bodies were transported back to Italy, where they received a state funeral. The killings attracted widespread condemnation from across the world. Italian President Sergio Mattarella declared that “the Italian Republic mourns the deaths of these public servants who lost their lives in the line of duty.” Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi met with Attanasio’s wife and children. Turin-based newspaper La Stampa ran a front-page tribute to Attanasio and Iacovacci, declaring them “the best of Italy."

Attanasio is the only Italian ambassador to have been killed in office. While Italy mourns his death, the DRC has now experienced another atrocity in the forests of Kivu.