President Francois Hollande vowed on Thursday to make an example of any French troops found guilty of child sex abuse in Central African Republic as an internal UN report suggested that French, Chadian and Equatorial Guinea troops were implicated.
"If some soldiers have behaved badly, I will show no mercy," Hollande told reporters.
The French defence ministry denied attempting to cover up the scandal following revelations it was made aware of the accusations in July last year when it received a leaked UN report on the subject.
According to the leaked UN report, victims as young as eight were raped in exchange for food and money.
The report, which was leaked to The Guardian, claimed abuse was alleged by around 10 children and took place at a centre for internally displaced people in the capital Bangui between December 2013 and June 2014.
According to The Guardian one 11-year-old boy said he was abused when he went out looking for food. While a nine-year-old described being sexually abused with his friend by two French soldiers at the IDP camp when they went to a checkpoint to look for something to eat.
The defence ministry said it immediately launched a probe into the case after receiving the news, sending police investigators to the former French colony on August 1.
But theallegations only emergedwhen The Guardian newspaper broke the story this week.
"There is no desire to hide anything," defence ministry spokesman Pierre Bayle said.
UN employee suspended for leaking report
The report Is believed to have been leaked by a Swedish UN aid worker who took action because of the UN’s failure to stop the assault.
According to The Guardian, Anders Kompass has been suspended and faces dismissal for breaching protocol.
UN spokesman Farhan Haq confirmed that its rights investigators had conducted a probe last year following "serious allegations" of child abuse and sexual exploitation by French troops.
But UN officials said Anders Kompass passed on the confidential document before it was presented to senior officials in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, suggesting that senior UN officials were not even aware of the report's findings when it was leaked.
With AAP
