Picture/Courtesy
KINSHASA, CONGO, Feb 22- Luca Attanasio, the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo was on Monday killed during a visit to the troubled eastern region of the country.
The envoy was in a World Food Program (WFP) convoy, authorities in Kinshasa reported.
“The three fatalities have been identified as the Italian Ambassador to DRC, Luca Attanasio, an Italian embassy official, and a WFP driver,” the UN agency said in a statement.
Other passengers were also injured as the delegation was set to visit a WFP school feeding program, the agency added.
According to a report by the Deutsche Welle (DW) , Germany’s international broadcaster, the envoy died of his injuries.
The convoy was ambushed in Virunga National Park near the eastern city of Goma, the province’s, Governor Carly Nzanzu Kasivita told reporters.
The governor added that the unidentified attackers fled after opening fire on the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) convoy.
Authorities have since launched investigations following the incident, while the Congolese army said its forces were “combing to find out who the assailants are,” according to AFP.
It is not yet clear what the motive was, though according to reports, the attackers wanted to kidnap a UN personnel.
Several rebel groups operate in the troubled area, where two British nationals were once kidnapped in 2018.
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