CAR: UN peacekeeping chief resigns amid fresh abuse allegations
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The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic has resigned.
It comes amid a fresh round of allegations of sexual abuse and excessive use of force by peacekeepers.
Babacar Gaye, a general from Senegal, quit at the request of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
“When the United Nations deploys peacekeepers, we do so to protect the world’s most vulnerable people in the world’s most desperate places,” said Ban.
“I will not tolerate any action that causes people to replace trust with fear.”
Amnesty International accuses peacekeepers of raping a 12-year-old girl and killing a boy and his father during an operation in Bangui this month.
The UN mission was set up to maintain stability in Central African Republic, as it emerges from two years of inter-religious violence.
The mission was already facing allegations of abuse, as are French soldiers and a previous peacekeeping force.