Moroccan U.N. unit accused of sex abuse over 3 years

By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Moroccan U.N. peacekeepers in Ivory Coast are alleged to have sexually abused girls as young as 13 over a three-year period as units rotated through the West African country, U.N. officials said.

The United Nations said on Saturday it had suspended the Moroccan contingent from its peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast during an investigation. The entire battalion of 734 soldiers had already been confined to barracks.

Two U.N. officials identified the peacekeepers as Moroccans and one said entire contingents had been involved with the young girls passed from unit after unit, resulting in the birth of illegitimate children.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Over the last few years as peacekeeping has expanded, reports of abuse have mounted in various African nations, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, prompting the world body to declare a "zero-tolerance" policy.

The United Nations can investigate but is powerless to punish perpetrators, who can be sent home for prosecution. Moroccan troops were involved in sexual abuse in eastern Congo and two years ago the Rabat government arrested six soldiers.

The Ivory Coast mission numbers just over 9,000 uniformed personnel from more than 40 countries. Moroccans make up the bulk of the force in Bouake, a rebel stronghold in the north, with some Bangladeshi police, Pakistani engineers and Ghanaian medical personnel.

The Moroccan U.N. mission had no immediate response to the allegations.