Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio (pictured), was on Monday morning killed in an attack by armed militia in the North Kivu province.  

According to AFP, a source from Kinshasa confirmed that the Italian diplomat was in the convoy of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) that had travelled to Goma on a fact-finding mission when the attack happened.

“Luca Attanasio and the other two unfortunate people were the target of the gangs and armed bands that scour this area. It must be the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) or the Nyatura, which are very active in the region,” said the governor of North Kivu province Carly Nzanzu Kasivita.