A Hutu militia in eastern Congo, as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), has denied any involvement in Monday’s killing of Italy’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Luca Attanasio, 43, died of his injuries he sustained during an ambush on a United Nations convoy he was travelling in the eastern town of Goma. Vittorio Iacovacci, a 30-year-old Italian military police officer travelling with the envoy, and a Congolese World Food Programme driver, Mustapha Milambo, also died in the incident.
According to reports, the ambush was carried out by six armed men, who stopped the two-car convoy on the road. They fired point-blank shots at the bodyguard who died on the spot and at the ambassador, wounding him in the abdomen.
“The ambassador died of his wounds an hour later at the United Nations peacekeeping hospital in Goma,” the presidency said.
DR Congo’s Ministry of the Interior and Security had blamed the incident on FDLR but the group’s spokesman, Cure Ngoma, denied any involvement.
Describing the killing as ‘heinous assassination’, Ngoma wondered why his group was linked to the ambush, noting that over 100 armed groups operate in the area.
Ngoma said that “whoever will be identified as responsible for the attack should be severely punished”.
In a statement, the armed group said the attack happened in an area where both of DR Congo and Rwanda had a military presence – so any investigation should take that into account.