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More than 20 at Mali wedding ceremony killed in air strike - health worker
By Reuters Staff
DAKAR (Reuters) -More than 20 people, including children, were killed in air strikes during a wedding ceremony in a remote desert area of central Mali on Sunday, a health worker with knowledge of the attack said on Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the attacks but a French army source told Reuters that French forces operating in Mali had carried out an air strike in the area on Sunday that killed “dozens of fighters” from Islamist groups in the area.
s - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...led-in-air-strike-health-worker-idUSKBN29A20S
French air strike killed 19 civilians at Mali wedding, says UN report
s- https://www.scmp.com/news/world/afr...lled-19-civilians-mali-wedding-says-un-report
A Wedding, an Airstrike, and Outrage at the French Military
The French Army says it killed terrorists in Mali, with no collateral damage. A new United Nations report says almost all of the dead were civilians.
s- https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/world/africa/mali-wedding-french-airstrike.html
FULL REPORT of UN MINUSMA https://minusma.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/rapport_final_bounty_bounty9.pdf
- Background and Context -
A French airstrike killed 19 civilians in Mali in January, a UN report said on Tuesday, prompting a strong denial from France.
The French air force struck near the remote village of Bounti on January 3, 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.
In the incident's aftermath, France's military said it had killed jihadists, not civilians, and also denied the presence of a wedding party in Bounti.
The United Nations mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, subsequently launched an investigation.
In a report summarising the probe's findings, the UN said Tuesday 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.
In Paris, the French defence ministry stood by its denial, saying it "maintains with consistency and reaffirms strongly" that an "armed terrorist group" had been identified and attacked.
It also said it had "numerous reservations about the methodology" used in the investigation.
At least 22 people died in the French strike, of whom 19 were civilians, according to the probe. No women or children were killed.
"The group affected by the strike was overwhelmingly composed of civilians who are protected persons under international humanitarian law," said the report.
The report also questioned whether the French military had enough time to ensure that its strike would not harm civilians.
"It appears difficult to discount the presence of civilians... in such a short period of time," it said.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the report "raises some very significant concerns on the respect of the conduct of hostilities, including precautionary principles and the obligation by member states to do everything (they can) to verify that targets are indeed military objectives."
The UN report constitutes a rare criticism of the actions of French forces in Mali.
Mali has been struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency that 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.
By Reuters Staff
DAKAR (Reuters) -More than 20 people, including children, were killed in air strikes during a wedding ceremony in a remote desert area of central Mali on Sunday, a health worker with knowledge of the attack said on Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the attacks but a French army source told Reuters that French forces operating in Mali had carried out an air strike in the area on Sunday that killed “dozens of fighters” from Islamist groups in the area.
s - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...led-in-air-strike-health-worker-idUSKBN29A20S
French air strike killed 19 civilians at Mali wedding, says UN report
- France, which earlier claimed only jihadists had been hit in the attack, has issued a strong denial of the probe’s findings
- The French air force struck near the remote village of Bounti on January 3, in circumstances that sparked controversy in the war-torn Sahel state
s- https://www.scmp.com/news/world/afr...lled-19-civilians-mali-wedding-says-un-report
A Wedding, an Airstrike, and Outrage at the French Military
The French Army says it killed terrorists in Mali, with no collateral damage. A new United Nations report says almost all of the dead were civilians.
s- https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/world/africa/mali-wedding-french-airstrike.html
FULL REPORT of UN MINUSMA https://minusma.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/rapport_final_bounty_bounty9.pdf
- Background and Context -
A French airstrike killed 19 civilians in Mali in January, a UN report said on Tuesday, prompting a strong denial from France.
The French air force struck near the remote village of Bounti on January 3, 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.
In the incident's aftermath, France's military said it had killed jihadists, not civilians, and also denied the presence of a wedding party in Bounti.
The United Nations mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, subsequently launched an investigation.
In a report summarising the probe's findings, the UN said Tuesday 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.
In Paris, the French defence ministry stood by its denial, saying it "maintains with consistency and reaffirms strongly" that an "armed terrorist group" had been identified and attacked.
It also said it had "numerous reservations about the methodology" used in the investigation.
At least 22 people died in the French strike, of whom 19 were civilians, according to the probe. No women or children were killed.
"The group affected by the strike was overwhelmingly composed of civilians who are protected persons under international humanitarian law," said the report.
The report also questioned whether the French military had enough time to ensure that its strike would not harm civilians.
"It appears difficult to discount the presence of civilians... in such a short period of time," it said.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the report "raises some very significant concerns on the respect of the conduct of hostilities, including precautionary principles and the obligation by member states to do everything (they can) to verify that targets are indeed military objectives."
The UN report constitutes a rare criticism of the actions of French forces in Mali.
Mali has been struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency that 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.
