DRC: Italian Ambassador killed by FDLR militia

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has blamed the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia for the attack in which the Italian ambassador there, a World Food Programme (WFP) staff member, and an Italian embassy official, were killed on Monday, February 22.

An attack on a UN convoy in the east of the country happened as the ambassador and the WFP convoy was travelling from Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province, to visit a WFP-run school feeding programme in Rutshuru (about 40 miles north of Goma), the agency said in a statement.

The Italian envoy, Luca Attanasio, did not die immediately but succumbed to wounds later after being evacuated to the UN Mission hospital in Goma where the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) has a base.

According to MONUSCO, the attack took place in Kibumba, 25 kilometers northeast of Goma, in North Kivu province. "The first two victims were killed during the attack, Ambassador Attanasio received emergency treatment at the hospital of the MONUSCO in Goma where he succumbed to his injuries."

In a statement that said the diplomat was a victim of an attack by the FDLR, the DRC Ministry of the Interior and Security noted that security services and provincial authorities were not informed in advance about the diplomats' presence in the area where armed rebels' activities are well known and could not readily secure the convoy.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, issued a statement and strongly condemned the attack. Guterres said the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

The FDLR used to be the largest illegal foreign armed group operating in eastern DRC before internal wrangles caused splinters to emerged, about four years ago. This group is primarily formed from members of the Rwandan government and army ousted after perpetrating Genocide in Rwanda in 1994.

FDLR elements under the command of Col. Ruhinda Killed Italian Ambassador in DRC

The Congolese armed forces (FARDC) have, for the past two years, upped their tempo in a large scale military offensive to get rid of local and foreign armed militia groups in the country's east. Many militia leaders and soldiers, including those of the FDLR, have been killed and others captured.