ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani foreign office on Monday sent condolences to Italy after the country’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, his bodyguard and a driver from the World Food Programme were killed when their convoy was attacked.
The convoy was attacked at about 10:15 am in an attempted kidnap near the town of Kanyamahoro, about 25 km (15 miles) north of the regional capital Goma, a spokesman for the Virunga National Park told Reuters.
The deaths of the ambassador, Luca Attanasio, 43, Italian military policeman Vittorio Iacovacci, 30, and a Congolese driver, whose name has not been released, were confirmed by the Italian government in a statement.
“Deepest condolences on the sad demise of #Italian Ambassador Lucca Attanasio and two other precious lives lost in an attack on a @UN convoy in Democratic Republic of #Congo,” the Pakistani foreign office said. “Our prayers are with the bereaved families. @ItalyMFA”
Deepest condolences on the sad demise of #Italian Ambassador Lucca Attanasio and two other precious lives lost in an attack on a @UN convoy in Democratic Republic of #Congo. Our prayers are with the bereaved families. @ItalyMFA
— Spokesperson MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) February 22, 2021
Dozens of armed groups operate in and around Virunga, which lies along Congo’s borders with Rwanda and Uganda. Park rangers have been repeatedly attacked and six were killed in an ambush last month.
The governor of North Kivu province, Carly Nzanzu Kasivita, told Reuters the assailants stopped the convoy by firing warning shots. They killed the driver and were leading the others into the forest when park rangers opened fire. The attackers killed the bodyguard and the ambassador also died, Kasivita said.
Virunga spokesman Oliver Mukisya said there were no indications yet of who was behind the attack, nor was there any immediate claim of responsibility.
