Bamako - Authorities in northern Mali say they're investigating allegations that Chadian peacekeepers sexually assaulted a woman.
An eyewitness said Wednesday that about half a dozen Chadian soldiers were at a bar in the northern town of Gao on Friday when two of the men went into a back room with women.
One of the women later cried for help and a bartender tried to intervene, said resident Mahamane Ag Astor.
United Nations chief spokesman Martin Nesirky says that the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali opened an investigation as soon as it received the information Friday.
The peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSMA, aims to secure northern Mali after a French-led military intervention ousted radical jihadists from the region.
Sapa-AP