Two new cases of alleged sex abuse by UN peacekeepers in C. Africa

The United Nations is investigating allegations that peacekeepers in the Central African Republic have sexually abused two minors, the latest in a wave of shocking cases to hit the UN mission. The allegations date back to May and took place in the central region of Kemo, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Friday. "The mission has received information on two new allegations in the area involving two minors," he said. The spokesman did not provide details on the number of troops involved or their nationalities, but contingents from Gabon and Burundi are deployed in the Kemo region as part of the UN force known as MINUSCA. The United Nations plans to notify the member-states involved and ask them to dispatch investigators to the Central African Republic to help establish the facts. A UN official said one of the victims was only 12 years old and the second "under 18". A local non-governmental organization provided information on the allegations, said the official, who asked not to be named. In all, 106 people have come forward in the Kemo region with allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by the peacekeepers, many dating back to 2014 and 2015. UN investigators have spoken to some 50 witnesses over the past months in a bid to corroborate the allegations, but they have yet to substantiate many of the claims. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon fired the commander of the MINUSCA force last year amid the mounting allegations of rape of under-age girls, but there continues to be new cases. MINUSCA, which has about 12,000 peacekeepers, took over from an African Union force in September 2014 as the country was still reeling from a wave of sectarian bloodshed.