The Italian ambassador to Congo, an Italian carabineri police officer and their Congolese driver were killed Monday in an attack on a U.N. convoy in an area that is home to myriad rebel groups, the Foreign Ministry and local people said. The ambush occurred as the convoy was traveling from Goma, Congo’s eastern regional capital, to visit a World Food Program school feeding project in Rutshuru, the U.N. agency said in a statement.
WFP said it was seeking information from local authorities, as the ambush occurred on a road that had previously been cleared for travel without security escorts.
Ambassador Luca Attanasio, Italy’s ambassador to the country since 2017, carabinieri officer Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver were killed. Other members of the convoy were injured, WFP said.