Francois Hollande has vowed to 'show no mercy ' if French peacekeepers are found guilty of sexual assaulting starving children in the Central African Republic . Fourteen soldiers dispatched to restore order after a 2013 coup have been accused of abusing children as young as nine as they begged for something to eat , according to a French judicial source . The investigation has been underway since last year but was only made public yesterday . The French president today said : 'If some soldiers have behaved badly , I will show no mercy . ' President Francois Hollande has vowed to 'show no mercy ' if French peacekeepers in Central African Republic are found guilty of raping hungry children in exchange for food . The French defence ministry has vehemently denied covering up the scandal following revelations it was made aware of the allegations in July last year when it received a leaked UN report on the subject . The ministry said it immediately launched a probe into the case when it received the news , sending investigators to the former French colony on August 1 . A defence ministry spokesman urged 'great caution ' because the accusations have not yet been proven , adding : 'There is no desire to hide anything . 'We are not hiding the facts , we are trying to verify the facts . ' The abuse reportedly took place at a centre for displaced people near Bangui airport between December 2013 and June 2014 . Paula Donovan , co-director of advocacy group AIDS-Free World , saw the report . A French soldier taking part in 'Operation Sangaris ' stands guard at the Boali church as people sit on the floor . She said : 'The children were saying that they were hungry and they thought that they could get some food from the soldiers . 'The answer was `` if you do this , then I will give you food '' . ' Of the six children testifying against the soldiers , four say they were direct victims of sexual abuse while two others witnessed it , the French judicial source revealed . The UN employee accused of the leak , Anders Kompass , turned the report over to French authorities because his bosses had failed to take action and has since been suspended , The Guardian reported . A UN spokesman confirmed investigators had conducted a probe last year following 'serious allegations ' of child abuse and sexual exploitation by French troops . French soldiers prepare to blow up captured weapons and explosive devices in Bangui on December 4 , 2014 . French soldiers patrol in a tank in Bangui amid dust as citizens go about their daily business . They added that an unnamed staff member had been suspended for leaking the report . Florent Geel , head of the Africa desk at the International Federation for Human Rights , said Kompass likely leaked the report because those accused are French . He said : 'When it involves Chad , there is never any follow-up . But here it involves France , where there is an independent judicial system , it could move things on . ' The violence in the Central African Republic has largely pitted the Christian majority against mainly Muslim Seleka rebels who led the March 2013 coup against former leader Francois Bozize . The country has yet to react officially , but a government member who wished to remain anonymous said that if true , the allegations were 'horrible and unacceptable ' . 'French soldiers can not behave like this in a country where they came to help civilians , ' they added .
14 soldiers have been accused of abusing children as young as nine . The scandal has led to the resignation of army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and a string of senior officers in the armed forces who are now under investigation for alleged abuse or neglect.