DR Congo has told the spokesman of the UN’s peacekeeping mission in the country to leave “as soon as possible”, according to an official letter seen by AFP on Wednesday.
The central African nation’s government asked the peacekeeping mission, known as MONUSCO, to withdraw spokesman Mathias Gillmann over “indelicate and inappropriate remarks” he made, the letter said.
“The government would very much appreciate that action be taken for Mr. Mathias Gillmann to leave Congolese territory as soon as possible,” it added, citing recent tensions between the peacekeeping mission and locals.
Protests against MONUSCO erupted in parts of eastern Congo last week, leading to the death of 36 people including four UN peacekeepers.
Anger has been fuelled by perceptions that MONUSCO is failing to do enough to stop decades of armed conflict in the region.
More than 120 militias operate in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s troubled east, where civilian massacres remain common.
The government letter to MONUSCO, dated July 28, did not provide details about Gillmann’s remarks.
