UN says European troops abused children in CARJanuary 29, 2016 - 18:02 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The UN said it has new allegations of child sex abuse by European troops in the Central African Republic (CAR). A number of girls aged between 14 and 16 have alleged they were raped by Georgian members of the EU's operation Eufor, the UN said, according to BBC News. Meanwhile a seven-year-old girl and a nine-year-old boy said they were abused by French troops. The troops were sent to stem violence between Christian militias and largely Muslim rebels, who seized power in March 2013 - in response, the militias took up arms against them. The abuse is alleged to have taken place near a camp for displaced people near Bangui Airport in 2014 but only came to light in recent weeks during interviews with a UN team. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein said he was "extremely alarmed" at the continuing allegations against peacekeeping troops. Last December an independent panel criticized the UN's handling of abuse allegations in the CAR, calling it "seriously flawed" and a "gross institutional failure". It accused senior UN officials of abusing their authority by failing to take action over allegations of abuse by soldiers from France, Equatorial Guinea and Chad. France sent 2,000 troops to its former colony in 2013 and began handing over responsibility to UN peacekeepers last year. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |