GENOA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2021) Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Monday expressed his condolences over the deaths of Italian Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Luca Attanasio, policeman Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver that resulted from a militant attack on a UN convoy.
Earlier in the day, the Italian Foreign Ministry said that Attanasio died after the attack that took place in the eastern DRC city of Goma in the North Kivu Province, located next to the border with Rwanda and Uganda.
"I received with dismay the news of a cowardly attack that struck an international convoy near the city of Goma a few hours ago, killing Ambassador Luca Attanasio, policeman Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver. The Italian Republic mourns for the deaths of these servants of the state who lost their lives while performing their professional duties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Mattarella said in a statement.
The president also expressed solidarity with the families of the victims, adding that all Italians were mourning with the relatives of the persons killed in the attack.
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said that Italians mourned the deaths of Attanasio and Iacovacci, stressing that he would spare no effort to initiate an investigation into the incident.
"Today is a dark and very sad day for our country. We learned with great dismay and immense pain of the deaths of our Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo Luca Attanasio, and policeman Vittorio Iacovacci. Two servants of the state who were violently taken away from us while performing their duties. The circumstances of this brutal attack are not yet known and no effort will be spared to shed light on what happened. I will refer to the parliament as soon as possible," Di Maio said.
President of the European Parliament David Sassoli also conveyed his condolences to the victims' families.
"It is with deep sorrow that we learn of the death of the Italian Ambassador to DR #Congo, Luca Attanasio, and of a policeman from the @_Carabinieri_, killed in an armed attack against a UN convoy. My thoughts and those of the @Europarl_EN are with the families of all the victims," Sassoli wrote on Twitter.
European Council President Charles Michel said that he was shocked by the news on the deaths of the Italian ambassador and the policeman, noting that the EU supported the DRC and its population.
"I have been shocked by the attack against the convoy, including the Italian ambassador and a serviceman. Security and peace should be ensured. The EU will remain on the side of the DRC. Express condolences," Michel wrote on Twitter.
North Kivu, located next to the border with Rwanda and Uganda, is a home province of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) group that brings together Islamists and forces opposed to longtime Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. The ADF has operated in the province since the late 1990s. In 2017, the group swore allegiance to the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia). The United Nations holds the group responsible for killing hundreds of civilians.
