French soldiers raped children searching for food in Central African Republic, says leaked UN report
By NewsGram Staff Writer
A leaked UN report has revealed shocking information about UN Peacekeeping force in Central African Republic.
According to the report titled, Sexual Abuse on Children by International Armed Forces, some French soldiers working as UN peacekeepers raped and sodomized hungry children in exchange for food in the capital city of Bangui in early 2014.
A nine-year-boy told human rights investigators how some French soldiers at the camp for internally displaced sexually abused him and his friend when they went there looking for food.
The report has surfaced as the UN Security Council has extended the stay of international force in the country by one year. It has also decided to strengthen the force by 1,000 soldiers in the country, which is torn by Christian-Muslim violence.
UN has already suspended Anders Kompass, a peacekeeper from Sweden for passing the report to the French authorities and not complying with UN protocol of confidentiality.
"A United Nations aid worker has been suspended after being found leaking a confidential report on child abuse, " according to a statement released by the Secretary General's spokesman.
According to the Guardian, spokesperson of UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that a probe into the issue was going on.
The United Nations had conducted a human rights investigation in late spring of 2014, following serious allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse of children by French military personnel, Xinhua news agency reported.