Summary Latest development suggests that a family member of girls fabricated the rape allegations: Source
KINSHASA (AFP) - A team of military investigators from the Democratic Republic of Congo were probing charges of rape against three of their soldiers serving as UN peacekeepers in neighbouring Central African Republic, military sources said Friday.
The investigators arrived in Bangui, the Central African capital, on Thursday and were to head to the northeastern town of Bambari where the rapes allegedly took place, said a senior Congolese military source.
According to the source, the latest development suggests that a family member of the girls fabricated the rape allegations.
The military official said that a briefing by a leader of the UN s Central African Republic peacekeeping force MINUSCA, "confirms our theory that the lie was fabricated by the uncle of the girls who were allegedly raped".
The soldiers are alleged to have raped three women and girls, aged 18, 19 and 15. The victims families notified the mission on August 12.
On August 20, the Congolese Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe told AFP that he had given orders to the auditor general of the army to prosecute the three men.
But according to the senior Congolese military official, the case folder is "empty", because of the "lies" orchestrated by an "uncle" of the three young girls, who has since contradicted his claims.
MINUSCA, which counts about 12,000 UN peacekeepers, faces at least 61 claims of misconduct, 12 of which involve sex abuse.
A UN notice to the DR Congo dated August 18 said the most recent allegations were the fourth of their kind against Kinshasa s contingent. The UN also warned DR Congo could face sanctions if further incidents came to light.
