French Defense Minister Florence Parly ended a two-day visit to Mali on Thursday. She met with the Malian authorities, especially the president of the transition, Ba N’Daw. A UN report says 19 civilians were killed in French strikes in early January in the Malian village of Bounti. But for Paris, it is really terrorists who have been targeted.
as reported from Bamako, Serge Daniel
The French army minister first began to confirm the version of the Barkhane force about the events in the Malian village of Bounti before the press. “I have the honor to confirm this. The French armed forces targeted a terrorist group that had been formally identified as such, she said.
The UN has nevertheless gathered evidence on the spot. According to which nineteen of the victims were killed … “The reported testimonies are not verifiable. They are based on unsupported assumptions,” the minister insisted.
“We used fighter jets flying at very high altitudes”
And to contradict other testimonies collected by UN investigators, the Minister of Armed Forces saw with the back of his hand the information according to which French helicopters and aircraft were seen at low altitude that day in Bounti. “We used fighter jets flying at very high altitudes,” the minister replied.
So why not put on the proof that it really was a gathering of jihadists and not a ceremony to celebrate a marriage? The enemy the elements that allow him to understand what we know about him. “
The UN investigation was carried out unilaterally, the French army minister concludes.
An independent judicial inquiry?
Florence Parly was accompanied by her Estonian and Czech counterparts, whose special forces alongside France are involved in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel. The three defense ministers paid a field visit to the north on Thursday to visit them.
For their part, seven civil society organizations, Malian and foreign, demand that an independent judicial inquiry into the bombing be launched. They call on France and Mali to highlight this tragedy. Malia’s Human Rights Association is one of the signatories of this call.
Drissa Traoré, national coordinator for AMDH
Among the signatories, FIDH, Oxfam France and Action Against Hunger …
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