The body of the Italian envoy to the Democratic Republic of Congo and his bodyguard will be returned to a land of mourning on Tuesday (February 23).
Flags half-mast in Rome as a sign of respect for the murders of Ambassador Luca Attanasio, military policeman Vittorio Iacovacci and Congolese driver Mustapha Milambo – killed in an ambush in the eastern province of Kivu in the Congo.
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has sent an envoy with a personal letter to the President of Italy and sent his top diplomatic adviser to assist local investigations in North Kivu.
But in the regional capital of Goma, Attanasio’s friend Dario Tedesco believes it’s important to remember that it’s not just an international tragedy, but a family tragedy.
“I really do not cry, I do not cry at all. Yesterday I felt so poor, I lost someone, we lost someone. And above all I have to be honest, I think of his wife and three daughters, and it’s a tragedy You know, it’s a tragedy for us.
Tedesco, a volcanologist in the Central African country, ate with Attanasio on Sunday (February 21).
The next day, his friend Iacaovacci and Milambo were killed. According to a Congolese rights activist, Milambo left behind four children.
The victims were part of a United Nations two-vessel convoy en route to a school feeding program in a town north of Goma.
According to Congo’s presidency, the attackers stopped the convoy and killed Milambo.
They were carrying passengers away when army and park rangers wrapped them in a firefight.
The attacker shot Iacovacci dead; Attanasio was wounded in the abdomen.
He died a few hours later in a UN peace hospital.
The Congolese Interior Ministry has blamed a Hutu militia called the Democratic Power for the Liberation of Rwanda – one of the 120 armed groups operating in eastern Congo.
But on Tuesday denied the involvement and condemned the attack as a ‘cowardly assassination’.
Video transcription
– The body of the Italian envoy for the Democratic Republic of Congo and his bodyguard will be returned to a country in mourning on Tuesday. Flags half-mast in Rome as a sign of respect for the killings of Ambassador Luca Attanasio, military policeman Vittorio Iacovacci and Congolese driver Mustapha Milambo – killed in an ambush in the eastern northern Kivu province of Congo. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has sent an envoy with a personal letter to the President of Italy and sent his top diplomatic adviser to assist local investigations in North Kivu.
But in the regional capital of Goma, Attanasio’s friend Dario Tedesco believes it is important to remember that this is not only an international tragedy, but also a family wedding.
DARIO TEDESCO: I do not really cry, I do not cry at all. I felt so, so poor yesterday. Yes, I lost someone. We lost someone. And most of all, I have to be honest, I thought of his wife and the three daughters. And this is a tragedy. You know, this is a tragedy for us.
Tedesco, a volcanologist in the country in Central Africa, ate with Attanasio on Sunday night. The next day, his friend Iacovacci and Milambo were killed. According to a Congolese rights activist, Milambo left behind four children. The victims were part of a United Nations two-vessel convoy en route to a school feeding program in a village north of Goma. According to Congo’s presidency, the attackers stopped the convoy and killed Milambo. They were carrying passengers away when army and park rangers wrapped them in a firefight.
The attackers shot Iacovacci dead, Attanasio was wounded in the abdomen. He died a few hours later in a UN peace hospital. The Congolese Ministry of Home Affairs has blamed a Hutu militia called the Democratic Force for the liberation of Rwanda, one of the 120 armed groups operating in eastern Congo. But Tuesday denied the involvement and condemned the attack as a cowardly assassination.