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Thirty-six people, including four U.N. peacekeepers, were killed
last week as hundreds of protesters vandalised and set fire to
U.N. buildings in several cities in Congo's east.
Civilians accuse the mission, which has been active for more
than a decade, of failing to protect them from militia violence
that has long plagued the region.
The government said that the spokesman, Mathias Gillmann, had
made "indelicate and inappropriate" statements which contributed
to the tensions between the population and MONUSCO.
"The Congolese government considers that the presence of this
official on the national territory is not likely to promote a
climate of mutual trust and calm between Congolese institutions
and MONUSCO," said the statement from the foreign affairs
ministry dated July 28 and seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
Gillmann and MONUSCO's deputy spokesperson did not immediately
respond to requests for comment.
The Congolese government also said this week that it would
reassess the mission's withdrawal plan in light of the protests,
a decision which MONUSCO said it supported.
The mission is due to withdraw by 2024 according to a plan drawn
up last year, but the government aims to speed up its departure,
said foreign affairs minister Christophe Lutundula.
(Reporting by Stanis Bujakera; Writing by Nellie Peyton, Editing
by Alexandra Hudson)
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