Five French soldiers deployed to the Central Africa Republic (CAR), have been suspended due to serious acts of violence, France’s Defence Ministry said in a statement in Paris on Saturday.
The acts were related to violence against two CAR citizens, the statement said, without specifying the exact incidents.
The AFP news agency reported that the soldiers had beaten up two people in the CAR capital of Bangui.
The five included soldiers who were directly involved or and their superiors, the ministry said.
It ordered an investigation into possible failures in the chain of command and disciplinary proceedings had been started.
The ministry said it had been informed of the acts by the army chief in April.
A number of investigations have already been opened into reports of French troops committing rape and sexual abuse in CAR, including against children, while they were in the country in 2013 and 2014.