text: 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 cannot behave like this in a country where they came to help civilians,' they added.
target: 14 soldiers have been accused of abusing children as young as nine .
  Investigation was started last year but was only made public yesterday .
  French defence ministry has denied covering up the scandal .