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Luca Attanasio, his bodyguard and his driver were attacked by armed men while they were part of a WFP convoy en route near Goma, North Kivu. The attack took place on the morning of February 22, around 10 a.m., about ten kilometers from Goma, in the territory of Nyiragongo, in North Kivu.
This triple murder has revived the debate, in particular on the combined efforts of the international community and the sub-region to pacify eastern DRC. Between the hypocrisy and indifference of some and the powerlessness of others, thousands of lives are lost and this has unfortunately been the sad reality of this part of the country for more than 25 years.
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Kinshasa powerless to stem the rebel groups which infest the two Kivus, to speak only of these two provinces, seems disoriented and caught off guard with what the Italian President describes as a “cowardly” attack, having cost the life of his ambassador. In the east of the country, after each deadly attack, the Congolese government is quick to attribute these crimes to the rebel groups that are rife in the area, without organizing a counter-attack in the manner of the late Colonel Mamadou Ndala, of happy memory.
In his comfort zone, at least what is akin to being, Congolese President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi, now President in office of the African Union, sees his promises to pacify the east of the DRC fly away. He who had however, only a few months after his accession to the supreme office, mortgaged his life to make this part peaceful, witnessed several massacres of his compatriots and even of a foreign ambassador. On October 8, 2020, Félix Tshisekedi also promised to settle in Goma “to hear local problems on a daily basis”, until then his promises have remained dead letters.
With this despicable attack from Luca Anattasio, his bodyguard and his driver, reactions were everywhere. From Washington to Rome, via the African capitals, condemnations are pouring in. And in view of this special attention, we are tempted to ask the question if the life of an ambassador is worth more than the life of the Congolese who are killed every day in eastern DRC. The international community, which unfortunately had become accustomed to looking elsewhere when the victims were only Congolese, is today confronted with the sad reality that the bereaved inhabitants of North Kivu live daily.
There is certainly no question of making a macabre count. But we must take advantage of this appalling drama for a start: put out of harm’s way to all the armed groups and local militias which sow death on a daily basis in this region.
The international community must come out of its indifference in order to help find the ways and means to achieve this, especially when we know that the insecurity in this part of the country is instrumentalised by neighboring countries, in particular Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi. The mandate of Félix Tshisekedi at the head of the AU must also contribute strongly. Indeed, this mandate can only take a much more secure turn than what was initially planned. The urgency of the situation in the East requires it if we do not want to disappoint the expectations of the Kivutians. There the war lasted too long. The violence has left Congolese families too bereaved.
Stéphie MUKINZI
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