At 10:30 am on 22 February 2021, including Attanasio, was attacked by six armed individuals. The convoy was travelling in
North Kivu, from the province's capital of
Goma to a WFP school feeding programme in
Rutshuru, a town north of Goma, on a route that would have taken the vehicles through
Virunga National Park. and Kanyamahoro. Attanasio was the main target of the attack. As the gunmen attempted to kidnap him, they opened fire, killing Mustapha Milambo, the Congolese UN driver. As local security forces were arriving at the scene following the report of shots fired, the gunmen killed 30-year-old
carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci and mortally wounded Attanasio. The attackers then kidnapped three of the hostages and fled the scene, while a third Italian national escaped unharmed. bringing the total number of deaths resulting from the attack to three. Attanasio was the first foreign ambassador to be killed in the DRC since 1993, and the first Italian ambassador killed while serving his term. The
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda were accused of being behind the attack by local authorities. However, the group denied any responsibility and condemned the attack, calling it 'ignoble'. Attanasio's wife, Zakia Seddiki, told
Il Messaggero she believed he had been "betrayed by someone close to us, to our family", saying "someone who knew his movements has spoken, has sold him out and betrayed him". On 5 March 2021, Mwilanya Asani William, the attorney who was investigating the murder of Attanasio and the two other men, was murdered by unknown gunmen during an ambush. On 19 January 2022, police in the DRC announced they had arrested six members of a highway robbers' gang suspected of killing Attanasio. According to a report from Le journal de l'Afrique, Attanasio's assassination was a revenge by his former partners, members of the
March 23 Movement (M23) headed by
Jean-Marie Runiga, for unfulfilled trade promises. == Personal life ==