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OUAGADOUGOU. — The father of a 5-year-old girl, who a French prosecutor says was sexually abused by a French soldier, has hired a lawyer and vowed yesterday to follow legal proceedings closely to ensure justice is done.
Allegations against two soldiers were disclosed last week.
They were suspended and arrested upon their return to France, though the Paris prosecutors’ spokeswoman said one had been released without charges.
It is the second case of alleged sexual abuse of minors by French soldiers in Africa to surface in recent months. French officials have insisted that the Burkina Faso case is unrelated to one in Central African Republic. In that case, officials have come under heavy criticism for not following up quickly on initial allegations.
France has troops in Burkina Faso and nearby countries as part of a large force fighting extremists in the region.
Ben Ouedraogo, the father of the 5-year-old, told The Associated Press yesterday he disagreed with the decision to repatriate the soldiers, though officials have said this was done in line with agreements between the two countries. — AP.
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