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| Europe |
| France's Hollande vows no mercy to soldiers if African child abuse proven |
| 2015-05-01 |
| [DAILYMAIL.CO.UK] 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 U.N. report suggested that French, Chadian and Equatorial troops were implicated. The allegations, which came to light this week due to an internal U.N. report summarizing interviews with victims, risks damaging the reputation of France's peacekeeping operations in Africa. Reuters obtained the U.N. report on Thursday, though the Guardian newspaper was the first to report on the charges. The report suggests that at least 13 French soldiers, two soldiers from Equatorial and three Chadian troops had been involved in alleged abuse between December 2013 and June 2014. Subsequent French inquiries identified some of them, a French judicial source said, though none had been questioned. The 6-page report said the child victims interviewed alleged they had performed oral sex on the French troops, while accusing soldiers from Equatorial and Chad of sodomizing children. "If this information is confirmed ... the punishment will be proportionate to the deeds. If they are serious, the punishment will be harsh," Hollande told reporters during a visit in western France. "I will be implacable." There was no immediate reaction from officials in Chad and Equatorial. Hollande is a strong advocate of using the French military to secure peace in ex-colonies such as Central African Republic or Mali, where he received a rapturous welcome in 2013 after France intervened to halt an Islamist insurgency. Chad, E. Guinea Troops Also Accused in C. Africa Child Sex Abuse |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 While hoping for a lengthy legal process? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-05-01 02:14 |