UN men 'try to block sex probe'
2004-12-16 23:26
Washington - United Nations peacekeeping troops in the DEmocratic Republic of Congo threatened UN staff and tried to block an investigation of alleged sexual abuse in the African nation, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
The report said Moroccan blue helmets were believed to have told some of their colleagues that a UN probe was under way in the DRC into charges of prostitution and alleged rapes of children by UN troops. They reportedly threatened the UN representative.
It also said troops from Morocco, Pakistan and possibly Tunisia paid witnesses or tried to pay them to change their statements about alleged sexual abuse.
Last month UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was shocked by a preliminary report on the alleged abuses.
The UN mission in DRC has about 10 000 troops. The mission has been in place since 2001, two years before the end of the war there.