French soldiers Sexually abusing children in exchange for food in Central African Republic.

Sexually abusing children in exchange for food in Central African Republic.

The French Army used to intervene in Africa, is facing a potentially devastating scandal in the Central African Republic, where his soldiers are accused of raping children in 2014.

French President Francois Hollande promised Thursday to be "ruthless" if allegations that French soldiers of Operation sangaris raped children in exchange for food in the African country are confirmed.

The sangaris operation was launched in December 2013 to end the fighting between Christian and Muslim militias in Central African Republic. In operation, backed by the UN, 2,000 French soldiers.

"If justice and military command confirmed the facts and if the facts are serious, the penalties will be severe, "said Hollande in the city of Brest.

In July 2014, the French Defense Ministry received a report, prepared by members of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the UN present in Central African Republic, in which six children-the youngest of 9 years claimed to have been violated under threat or in exchange for food.

That report was forwarded immediately to the Paris prosecutor, which opened a preliminary investigation, which had remained secret until Wednesday, when the British newspaper The Guardian revealed the case.

Members of the gendarmerie with judicial powers and orders of the prosecutor in Paris in August 2014 traveled to the Central African Republic to initiate the investigation. Yesterday, a French judicial source said that fourteen French soldiers were involved.

The French defense ministry said it had "taken all necessary measures to allow the truth to be established."

"The children said they were hungry and thought they could get food from the soldiers," French said Donovan told AFP. The soldiers had given them food and sometimes small amounts of money in exchange for sex.

According to Donovan, some children say they were raped and others who were abused. Other children say they witnessed violations. Some of them accurately described their attackers, which in principle should enable identification.

For his part, the archbishop of Bangui, Dieudonné Nzapalainga spoke of one or two soldiers directly involved in the rape of children. "From what I heard, it would be one or two soldiers who may be directly involved, but it's too early to say," he said. "Each institution has its black sheep. Not to defame the French Army as a whole, which is a large army, "said the archbishop.