ABIDJAN , Cote d'Ivoire ( Reuters ) -- The United Nations said on Saturday it had suspended a Moroccan military contingent from its peacekeeping mission in Cote d'Ivoire while it investigated allegations of widespread sexual abuse . Moroccan U.N. peacekeepers stop a bus near Bouake , Cote d'Ivoire , in March . `` It means they do n't participate in our operations , '' said Hamadoun Toure , spokesman for the U.N. mission in Cote d'Ivoire ( ONUCI ) . `` Those who are found guilty will be sent back home . '' The world body said the measure was in addition to a decision to confine the entire battalion of 734 soldiers to barracks . U.N. officials , speaking on condition of anonymity , said on Friday the investigation involved Moroccan soldiers having sex with a large number of underage girls in the West African country 's northern rebel stronghold of Bouake . Toure said the allegations had come to light after the mission ran a campaign against sexual exploitation in which it asked local people to inform it about abuses . It then sent a team to carry out interviews and gather information . The Cote d'Ivoire mission numbers just over 9,000 uniformed personnel from more than 40 countries . Moroccans make up the bulk of the force in Bouake with some Bangladeshi police , Pakistani engineers and Ghanaian medical personnel . The peacekeepers , backed by troops from former colonial power France , are in the world 's top cocoa grower to support a peace process that was revived in March by an agreement between President Laurent Gbagbo and rebel leader Guillaume Soro . E-mail to a friend . Copyright 2007 Reuters . All rights reserved.This material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed .
U.N. confines all female soldiers of Moroccan origin to barracks . Some soldiers accused of having sex with underage girls in Cote Rouge . U.N. says anyone found guilty will be sent home .