The statement added that the ministry had “numerous reservations about the methodology used” to carry out the UN probe. As a result, Paris “cannot consider that this report provides any evidence whatsoever that contradicts the facts as described by the French armed forces,” it said. Some residents of Bounti told journalists at the time that French warplanes had struck a wedding party near the remote village, and not a meeting of jihadists as claimed by France. The United Nations mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, subsequently launched an investigation into the affair. It added that about five armed people, who are thought to be members of the jihadist group Katiba Serma, attended the celebrations.

Source: The Local March 30, 2021 14:48 UTC