Paris, July 1 (RHC)-- Two French soldiers in Burkina Faso have been suspended over accusations of sexually abusing children, France's Defense Ministry says. According to a statement released by the ministry on Tuesday, the two soldiers were suspected of "committing acts of a sexual nature" on children on Monday in the West African country.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian "immediately alerted the competent judicial authorities" after hearing about the incident, the ministry further said, adding that an investigation had been "launched by the Chief of Army Staff." According to the statement, the French army will show no mercy in dealing with the soldiers if the allegations are proven true.

Some 220 French soldiers have been stationed in the landlocked country as part of a French so-called anti-terrorism operation.

In a similar incident, 14 other French soldiers are currently under investigation over allegations of sexually abusing refugee children and feeding them only in exchange for sex when soldiers were stationed at a center for displaced people in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, between December 2013 and June 2014.