Mali: Operation Barkhane confirms its version of the facts after the strikes on Bounti
The French army confirms that the men killed were indeed terrorists after a ground mission to make findings.
© AFP / Dominique Faget
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
What happened to Bounti in the Douentza region in central Mali?
After an air strike on Sunday January 3, the French and Malian armies claim to have touched terrorist elements;
For their part, villagers and a Fulani defense association claim - on the contrary - that this strike killed 19 civilians who had come to attend a wedding.
What Barkhane firmly denies.
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The French army claims to have gone there.
According to the findings on the spot: the men killed were indeed terrorists, assures the French army.
Already Thursday evening, in a statement from the General Staff, the French army detailed its operation called Eclipse.
Before the strike, they had observed the area, assures the army, certifying the nature of this gathering and excluding the presence of women and children without giving more details.
An air strike, "
three bombs
", carried out by a drone and two fighter planes would have made it possible to "
neutralize about thirty terrorists
".
Extremely rare, to support its version Barkhane even gives the precise coordinates of this strike.
An investigation opened by the Malian army
For its part, the Fulani association Tabital Pulaaku affirms that the affected men were gathered in this area but speak of civilian victims, mostly from the same family.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which treated the wounded, reports that the patients were mostly men over 60, without specifying whether they were civilians or not.
MSF said there were no women or children among the injured.
In its press release, the Malian army ensures that it has in possession of surveillance and observation images which corroborate the version of the French army.
She also announced the opening of an investigation "
to better understand
" the events of January 3.
Malian civil society is asking for clarifications.
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Read also: Mali: M5-RFP asks for explanations after the attack on Bounti
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Mali
Defense
Terrorism
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Mali: what we know about the attack on the village of Bounti
Strikes on Bounti: the Malian army confirms the version of the Barkhane force