PARIS, Sept 2, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – French anti-jihadist troops in Mali killed
a civilian Tuesday and wounded two others after a bus refused to slow down in
a volatile area despite their orders, the French army command said.
The incident occurred about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the city of Gao
in Mali’s troubled north.
The French soldiers fired warning shots in the ground but two bullets
ricocheted and hit the windscreen, wounding three people, including one
fatally, the French army command said.
“The seriously wounded person was evacuated by helicopter to the hospital
of the (French) Barkhane force in Gao, but died of his injuries,” it said.
“All steps have been taken to ascertain the exact sequence of events,” it
said, expressing its “sincere condolences to the family of the deceased.”
But bus company director Abdoulaye Haidara disputed the army command’s
version of events, telling AFP that his driver had denied refusing to stop
and did not hear any warning shots.
Mali is now under the control of a junta that seized power in a putsch two
weeks ago.
Swathes of its territory are outside of the control of central authorities
and years of fighting have failed to halt an Islamist insurgency that has
claimed thousands of lives since emerging in 2012.
France has deployed more than 5,000 troops in its Barkhane anti-jihadist
force in West Africa.
A key part of French strategy to combat terrorism in the turbulent region
lies with the so-called G5 Sahel force — a scheme to create a 5,000-strong
joint force gathering Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, Mali and Niger.
But the force lacks equipment, training and funds.