ROME, Italy
Italy has asked the United Nations to start an investigation into the attack in which the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and his body guard were killed earlier this week.
"We
have formally asked the UN and the WFP [World Food Programme] to open an
investigation that clarifies what happened, the reasons behind the security
provisions used and who was responsible for these decisions," Foreign
Minister Luigi Di Maio (pictured) told parliament on Wednesday.
Ambassador
Luca Attanasio, Carabinieri policeman Vittorio Iacovacci, and a Congolese
driver, Mustapha Milambo, were killed in an attack on a WFP convoy in the
eastern part of the DR Congo on Monday.
"We
have also explained that we expect clear and exhaustive answers as quickly as
possible," Di Maio said. He added that a team of the Carabinieri's special
operations group was already in the DR Congo to gather evidence for an
investigation by Rome prosecutors on the case.
Di
Maio said that other investigative teams would also follow.
The
DR Congo government has blamed Rwandan rebel group Democratic Forces for the
Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) for the attack. It said Attanasio and Iacovacci
were killed by rebels, ruling out the hypothesis that the friendly fire of
Congolese security forces may have caused the deaths.
"We
owe them the truth ahead of anything else," Di Maio said.
"But
the best way to honor the memory of Ambassador Luca Attanasio and Carabiniere
Vittorio Iacovacci is to continue to strengthen our political attention for the
African continent, something Luca strongly believed in with passion and
dedication,” he added.
Attanasio
had devoted most of his diplomatic career and his personal efforts to Africa,
participating in the activities organized by the Mama Sofia NGO founded by his
wife Zakia in Kinshasa.
The
bodies of Attanasio, 43, and Iacovacci, a-30-year-old officer who was part of
the ambassador's security team, arrived in Italy late on Tuesday. Autopsies
will be performed on Wednesday.
Di
Maio called the two men "heroes" and said they will have a state
funeral in Rome on Thursday.
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