Violence In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo

 

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Wave of Violence

Italy’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and two other people were killed Monday during an attack on a humanitarian convoy, the latest incident in a wave of violence in the country’s east, the New York Times reported.

Ambassador Luca Attanasio and the other two victims were traveling north to a food initiative at a school as part of a United Nations convoy before they were ambushed by unknown gunmen.

The World Food Program said the attack “occurred on a road that had previously been cleared for travel without security escorts.”

Italian officials offered their condolences for the diplomat’s death, and Congo’s government vowed to find the perpetrators.

The killings occurred in the North Kivu province near the border with Rwanda, an area known as a hotbed for violent activity by dozens of armed groups.

The province’s governor, Carly Nzanzu Kasivita, said that initial investigations suggested that the attackers spoke Kinyarwanda, an official language in Rwanda.

Authorities suspect that the attack might have been perpetrated by members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a rebel group with links to the 1994 genocide in that country.

The attack comes amid a wave of violence in the area in recent weeks, including a deadly attack by a different militia in Virunga National Park that left six people dead last month.