"The UN mission in the Central African Republic was hit with new allegations Wednesday that its peacekeepers sexually abused several women and girls, some of whom are now pregnant.
'MINUSCA was informed today of allegations involving five women that had sexual relations with peacekeepers. Three of them were under 18,' said a UN official who asked not to be named.
A team from the mission will be dispatched Thursday to Bambari, north of the capital Bangui, to collect information following the allegations involving troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Two of the five women became pregnant as a result of the relations with the peacekeepers over several months, said the official.
The 12,000-strong MINUSCA force has faced a string of allegations of misconduct and sexual abuse with victims as young as 11...
It was at least the second time that troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo were accused of misconduct in the UN mission.
In August, three young women, one of whom was a minor, accused the Congolese soldiers of rape and Kinshasa said they would face trial.
Under UN rules, it is up to the troop-contributing country to investigate and prosecute soldiers accused of misconduct while serving under the UN flag.
The MINUSCA force, which took over from an African Union mission in September 2014, has been plagued by a series of allegations involving its peacekeeping forces..."