Case Against French Troops Accused of Child Sex Abuse in CAR Dismissed - Reports

The French investigating magistrates have closed a case brought against a group of French soldiers accused of raping children in the Central African Republic (CAR) while on a peacekeeping mission, local media reported on Monday.

Last year, the Paris prosecution office called for the case to be dismissed over lack of convincing evidence. On Monday, the investigation stated that it could not confirm the fact of the sexual abuses, the BFMTV channel reported.

In March 2016, the AIDS-Free World organization reported more than a hundred new cases of sexual abuse, allegedly committed by foreign soldiers in CAR from 2013 to 2015. The majority of victims were said to be minors.

French troops were deployed in CAR as part of the Sangaris operation following the outbreak of the civil war in 2013. France withdrew the main bulk of the forces in October 2016, leaving only a rump force in support of the UN peacekeeping mission.