The Diplomat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday “strongly” condemned the attack perpetrated by the terrorist group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in which Italian Ambassador Luca Attanasio was killed.
A convoy of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) was attacked yesterday by this mostly Hutu armed group – opposed to the Kinshasa government – while on a visit near Kanyamahoro, north of the capital of North Kivu province, Goma. The ambassador, one of his bodyguards and two UN workers were killed in the attack.
“The Government of Spain conveys its condolences to the families of the deceased and its sympathy to the Governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Italian Republic and the United Nations Organization”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “The Government reiterates its firm commitment to the pacification of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the fight together with the United Nations against terrorist groups operating in the east of the country”, it added.
For her part, Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya yesterday wrote a Twitter message, shared with her counterpart Luigi di Maio, in which she expressed her “solidarity with Italian diplomacy following the terrible murder of the Italian ambassador to Congo, Luca Attanasio, and a member of the Carabinieri in an attack on a UN convoy in the DRC”.
“With deep regret, the Farnesina confirms the death in Goma of the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, and of a carabinieri”, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. For his part, Di Maio expressed his “immense sorrow” for the assassination of “two servants of the State in the line of duty”, after being informed of the news while participating in Brussels in the meeting of European Union foreign ministers.
