Port Harcourt continues on its bid to become one of the most dangerous areas of Nigeria. Yesterday, sadly, a Lebanese furniture manufacturer was murdered in his house by killers who use explosives to destroy the front security gates. Later in the day a bus carrying expatriates who had an armed police escort was attacked by gunmen in a minibus on the main Aba expressway. For once, the mopol didn't run away and managed to drive off the attackers who were thought to have been attempting to kidnap the expats.
There are some who think the UN would be the solution to the problems in the Delta. However, in many places where the UN has been stationed their troops are involved in crimes such as rape, paedophilia and human trafficking. The entire 800-man force of the Moroccan battalion of the UN forces in Bouake, Ivory Coast has been confined to barracks following allegations of widespread sexual abuse by hundreds of Moroccan peacekeepers.
U.N. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the investigation involved Moroccan soldiers having sex with a large number of underage girls. The world body took the highly unusual step of confining the entire battalion of 800 troops to barracks.
"An internal investigation by the United Nations Mission in Cote D'Ivoire has revealed serious allegations of widespread sexual exploitation and abuse by a U.N. military contingent serving in Bouake," a U.N. statement said.
. The UN has summonsed Rabat's diplomats to respond.
Over the last few years as peacekeeping has expanded, reports of abuse have mounted in various African nations, especially the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite the "zero-tolerance" policy declared by the United Nations.
"If the allegations are proven to be true, it's entirely unacceptable that U.N. peacekeepers would behave in this manner," one U.N. peacekeeping department official said.
The Ivory Coast mission numbers just over 9,000 uniformed personnel from more than 40 countries. Moroccans make up the bulk of the force in Bouake, a rebel stronghold in the northern Ivory Coast, with some Bangladesh police, Pakistani engineers and Ghanaian medical personnel.
The Moroccan U.N. mission had no immediate response to the allegations.
The U.N. statement said a full investigation was underway.
"But due to the serious nature of the allegations, the United Nations has taken the decision to suspend all activities of the contingent and has cantoned the unit within its base," the statement said.
A 2005 U.N. report said soldiers should be punished for any sexual abuse, their pay docked and a fund set up to assist any women and girls they impregnated. But member nations have not agreed.