A scandal involving French peacekeepers, accused of sexually exploiting children in Central African Republic, harms the image of the West, Sylvie Baipo-Temon, a spokesperson for the ad hoc committee of the diaspora for Peace in Central African Republic, told Sputnik.

The very soldiers who were supposed to end a conflict and bring peace to the country were doing exactly the opposite, bringing more suffering to the most vulnerable segment of the population — children, said another person familiar with the issue, Jean-Barack Ouambeti, the head of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Gender Based Violence.

The UN published a report on December 17, which found that children as young as nine-years-old were forced to perform oral sex in exchange for food or money. The perpetrators were mainly French peacekeepers from the unit known as the Sangaris force, which works under the authorization of the UN Security Council.

"The military is engaged in trade: they serve as bodyguards, but contribute to more violence [by sexually exploiting locals]," Baipo-Temon told Sputnik.

"One must have at least a drop of compassion for the victims of families [affected by the war], but they [French peacekeepers] abused the weakness of local people. They had a mandate to provide security and the population trusted them, instead they dug graves for these people," the spokesperson of the committee said.

The situation is horrible. During an investigation into the case, other instances of sexual exploitation by UN peacekeepers were reported.

"The investigation revealed other facts of children abuse in the center of the capital and especially in remote areas," Jean-Barack Ouambeti, the head of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Gender Based Violence, told Sputnik.

Right now investigators are working on getting more information from victims. The government of Central African Republic tries to pursue the truth, but UN bodies haven't been willing to cooperate and reveal information, Ouambeti said.

The Sangaris force weren't the only unit involved in these kinds of horrible abuses. Peacekeepers serving in Morocco and the Republic of Congo also sexually abused local populations, according to the head of Gender Based Violence.

There are even rumors about the cases of bestiality taking place in some remote regions; but more evidence must be gathered to validate the claims and publish reports on the subject, Ouambeti said.