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UN: More Peacekeepers Suspected of Sex Abuse in CAR


The United Nations said Tuesday that troops from another contingent of its Central African Republic peacekeeping force were suspected of sexually abusing children.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric would not name the troops' country of origin. But he said that "if the allegations are substantiated, this would constitute a grave violation of U.N. principles."

Fourteen French soldiers are already being investigated for allegedly abusing children in the C.A.R. last year.

According to witnesses, hungry children who approached the soldiers guarding a refugee camp were given food and water in exchange for sex.

Troops from Chad and Equatorial Guinea are also under suspicion for similar abuse.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed an independent panel this week to investigate how U.N. officials handled the allegations of sex abuse.

France sent troops to the C.A.R., a former French colony, in 2013 to restore calm after Islamic rebels took control of the capital, sparking violence between Muslims and Christians.

French President Francois Hollande has said he "will show no mercy" to any French soldier guilty of sexually abusing children.

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