The Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo has been killed in an attack on a UN convoy.
The Italian foreign ministry said on Monday the attack occurred in eastern Congo, and the ambassador was travelling in a convoy of the UN stabilisation mission there.
Luca Attanasio died of his injuries shortly after the convoy was ambushed in Virunga National Park near the city of Goma in North Kivu province, the province’s governor Carly Nzanzu Kasivita told German news agency dpa.
Attanasio “died of his injuries after the attack”, Kasivita said. The ambassador’s driver and bodyguard were also killed.
The unidentified attackers were repelled by park rangers patrolling the area, according to the governor.
A UN peacekeeping mission has been working to draw down its 15,000-troop presence and transfer its security work to Congolese authorities.