UN peacekeepers lured underage Ivory Coast girls to have sex in exchange for food: Wikileaks

United Nations peacekeepers in Ivory Coast lured poor and underage girls in the West African nation to have sex with them in exchange for food, a United States Embassy cable released by WikiLeaks has revealed.   

The cable written in January 2010 focuses on the behavior of Beninese peacekeepers stationed in the western town of Toulepleu, an area that has been at the crosshairs of the nation's 10-year-long conflict, Fox News reports.

An aid group, Save The Children UK in 2009, has found in a random poll that eight out of ten underage girls (respondents) in Toulepleu performed sexual acts for Benin peacekeepers on a regular basis in order to secure their most basic needs.

"Eight of the 10 said they had ongoing sexual relationships with Beninese soldiers in exchange for food or lodging," the diplomat wrote in the cable, citing information shared with the embassy by a protection officer.

On Tuesday, United Nations spokesman Michel Bonnardeaux confirmed that in April, 16 Beninese peacekeepers were repatriated to Benin and are barred from serving in the UN following a yearlong investigation.

"We see it as a command and control problem," Bonnardeaux said, adding that of the 16, 10 were commanders and the rest were soldiers.

The commanders "failed to maintain an environment that prevents sexual exploitation and abuse," he added.