Peace army crisis over sex abuse
600 Congo soldiers set to leave CAR
MORE than 600 troops from Congo Republic serving as UN peacekeepers in the Central African Republic will be returning home following allegations of sex abuse and other misconduct, UN officials said on Monday.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the withdrawal yesterday.
The decision follows a report by the UN commander of the Minusca force who warned that Brazzaville should either take steps to rein in the troops or be forced to repatriate them.
Lieutenant-General Balla Keita of Senegal told UN headquarters that he had sent six letters of blame to the battalion commander already this year over alleged sexual abuse, fuel trafficking and lack of discipline. The 629 peacekeepers deployed in Berberati, the country’s third-largest city, are Brazzaville’s only contribution to UN peacekeeping.
Last year, 120 troops from the same contingent were sent back following allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation (SEA) involving at least seven victims, six of whom were children.
But following a Minusca assessment of the Berberati base in March, Keita said there had been “no improvements in the behaviour of the Congolese battalion”.
“The battalion is notorious for SEA misconducts, fuel trafficking and poor discipline,” Keita wrote in a memo sent last month. “The situation has deteriorated to the point that the battalion is no longer trustable because of poor leadership, lack of discipline, and operational deficiencies,” he added. The memo and a 66-page UN assessment of the Congolese troops were released by the Code Blue Campaign of non-governmental organisations seeking to expose cases of sexual abuse and exploitation by UN peacekeepers.
The 12 000-strong Minusca force has been plagued by a wave of sexual abuse allegations since the mission began in 2014 to help restore stability to the country.
One of Africa’s poorest countries, the Central African Republic descended into bloody sectarian fighting after the 2013 overthrow of leader Francois Bozize.
Former UN chief Ban Ki-moon in 2015 took the rare step of firing the then-head of the peacekeeping force over his handling of dozens of misconduct cases, including the rape of minors. — AFP