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French strike in Mali killed 19 civilians in January: UN
BAMAKO, March 30, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – A French air strike killed at least 19
civilians in central Mali in January, according to a UN report seen Tuesday
by AFP, which added that the victims were protected under international law.
On January 3, French warplanes struck near the remote village of Bounti in
circumstances that sparked controversy in the war-torn Sahel state.
Residents of the village said the strike hit a wedding party and killed
civilians.
But France’s military rejected the accusation and said it had killed
jihadists. It also denied that a wedding had taken place in Bounti that day.
The United Nations mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, subsequently launched
an investigation into the affair.
In a report summarising the probe’s findings seen by AFP on Tuesday, the UN
said a wedding had in fact taken place and had “gathered about 100 civilians
at the site of the strike”.
It added that about five armed people, who are thought to be members of the
jihadist group Katiba Serma, attended the celebrations.
At least 22 people died in the French strike, of whom 19 were civilians,
according to the probe.
“The group affected by the strike was overwhelmingly composed of civilians
who are protected persons under international humanitarian law,” the report
said.
“This strike raises serious concerns about respect for the principles of
the conduct of hostilities,” it added.
The UN report is based on 115 individual interviews and constitutes a rare
criticism of the actions of French forces in Mali.
Investigators also conducted group interviews and about 100 telephone
interviews.
Mali has been struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency which first
broke out in the north of the country in 2012 before spreading to the centre
and neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.
France, the former colonial power, intervened in Mali in 2013 to beat back
the jihadists, and now has some 5,100 soldiers deployed across the semi-arid
Sahel region.
Central Mali, where the strike on Bounti occurred, is an epicentre of the
brutal conflict.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1914 hrs