AU's Darfur troops in abuse probe

By Jonah Fisher
BBC News, Khartoum

AU troops are tasked with monitoring the ceasefire in Darfur

The African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in Sudan says it will look into claims that its troops committed sexual abuse in the western region of Darfur.

The UK's More4 TV channel last week aired allegations that AU soldiers paid women, some as young as 11, for sex.

The AU said the claims were disturbing, but added there had recently been many allegations against its mission - all of which had been found to be baseless.

The AU has 7,000 troops guarding some of Darfur's 2 million displaced people.

The report broadcast on More4 showed interviews with two women at a camp in south Darfur called Gereida.

One said she had been paid for sex with an AU peacekeeper and was now pregnant.

The other, an 11-year-old, said she was paid, then raped by a soldier.

According to the reporter, many other women at the camp said they were being paid for sex.

A statement from the AU mission in Sudan said the accusations were very disturbing and that a committee including representatives from outside the AU had been set up to investigate them.

It went on to say that there had been a spate of orchestrated allegations against the AU in recent months - all of which had been proven, after investigation, to be baseless.

The Sudanese government is keen for the AU peacekeepers to remain but Darfur's rebels would like to see them replaced by a larger, more robust United Nations force.