Bangui - French magistrates were on their way Tuesday to the Central African Republic, a judicial source said, to question children who say they were sexually abused by peacekeepers in exchange for food.
Several children - the youngest just nine - allege that more than a dozen French soldiers dispatched to the impoverished nation to restore order after a 2013 coup were involved in the scandal that rocked the French military.
Since then, allegations of abuse have also surfaced in Burkina Faso, where two French special forces soldiers were accused - and one charged - with sexually assaulting two girls aged three and five at a hotel swimming pool.
France's defence ministry was informed of the incidents in the Central African Republic in July 2014 when it received a leaked report compiled by UN officials stationed in the restive country.
It immediately launched an internal probe into the case, sending police investigators to the former French colony on August 1 after receiving the news.
But the allegations nevertheless only emerged in April when The Guardian newspaper broke the story, leading to accusations the ministry tried to cover up the scandal - which it denies.
French judges were subsequently tasked with investigating the alleged sexual abuse, and the source, who wished to remain anonymous, said two magistrates were currently on their way to Bangui.
AFP