BBC News Online: World: Africa

Belgian UN soldier jailed over incident in Somalia

A military court in Belgium has jailed a soldier for six months after finding him guilty of racist behaviour while serving with UN troops in Somalia in 1993.

The soldier, Sergeant Dirk Nassel, had been given a suspended prison sentence in March for sexually abusing a Somali girl, tying a child to a vehicle, and forcing another, a Somali Muslim, to eat pork.

But the prosecution succeeded in appealing, clearing the way for an increased sentence.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service