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UN confirms sex abuse cases
23/07/2007 19:14 - (SA)
Abidjan - A United Nations spokesperson, Margarita Amodeo, has confirmed that some of the UN's peacekeeping mission from Morocco have sexually abused under aged girls in the Ivory Coast.
"There was an internal investigation which proved the facts. There are minors among the victims concerned," Amodeo said.
The United Nations at the weekend suspended a Moroccan peacekeeping unit based in the Ivory Coast after an internal probe into allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by some of its soldiers.
A full investigation has now been launched into the claims, which centre on a 732-strong Moroccan contingent based in Bouake in the rebel-held north of the divided country, the UN said.
Amodeo said the results so far showed that the cases were confined to the one peacekeeping unit based in Bouake.
"The investigators are in the process of gathering all the facts," she added.
Human rights groups in the Ivory Coast have expressed outrage at the allegations levelled against the troops.
Peacekeepers were deployed in 2003 to oversee a ceasefire between the rebels, who held the north of the former French colony following an attempted 2002 coup against President Laurent Gbagbo and the government troops who held the south.
The UN has about 8 000 peacekeepers stationed in the one-time beacon of stability and economic powerhouse of west Africa. They are backed by more than 3 000 French troops.
Morocco has the second-largest UN contingent after Bangladesh.
- SAPA
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