According to local elected officials, six young Malians were killed on Thursday, March 25, in the northeastern part of the country in a strike that the French force Barkhane described as targeting jihadists. Local notables speak of young hunters killed during persecuting game. They request that an investigation be initiated and that liability be established.
The airstrike took place outside Talataye, a city between Gao and Ménaka. According to the mayor, the six victims are young people from the village – including four under 16s who went hunting, explains Mohamed Assaleh Ahmad.
“Group of young people”
“This was a group of young people on three motorcycles pulling rabbits and cartridges. Around 10.30 testify around having heard explosions and claim that they have seen planes in the air. Impossible to know if they are French planes or not. ”
A city councilor also claims to have seen a drone fire west of Talataye. This version is denied by the French force Barkhane.
Terrorists, according to the Barkhane force
This confirms that there was indeed an air operation 60 km north of Indélimane to neutralize an armed terrorist group. The French staff who do not specify the human losses, but indicate that “three motorcycles were destroyed”. This is the second time in a few months that a French air operation has given rise to opposite versions.
►Read also: Strikes on Bounti (Mali): NGO Human Rights Watch calls for an impartial inquiry
.
