UN probe concludes French air attack hit a wedding celebration

The French defense ministry on Tuesday contested a United Nations report that determined an airstrike earlier in the year in Mali resulted in the deaths of 19 civilians participating in a wedding.

Reuters reported that the U.N.’s determination came after a division of the U.N.’s mission in the country interviewed more than 400 people, including at least 115 in face-to-face; individual sessions. and studied satellite images from the Jan. 3, 2021 strike in a remote village called Bounti.

“MINUSMA is able to confirm that a wedding celebration was held that brought together about 100 civilians at the site of the strike,” the report, released on Tuesday said.

It said 19 people; including 16 civilians and three armed men who were attending the wedding, were killed immediately in the air attack, while three more civilians died while being transferred to medical care.

“There were five armed individuals among them [wedding party], presumed members of Katiba Serma,” the MINUSMA report said, referring to an armed group affiliated with al-Qaeda.

The findings constitute a rare criticism of the actions of French forces in Mali.

“The group affected by the strike was overwhelmingly composed of civilians; who are protected persons under international humanitarian law,” the report said.

“This strike raises serious concerns about respect for the principles of the conduct of hostilities,” it added.

French authorities have said that “several dozen” extremists were killed during the airstrike.

On Tuesday; they said the U.N. report had relied on unidentified witnesses and failed to make clear under what conditions their testimony was taken.

“On the contrary, this strike followed a process of robust targeting,” the ministry said.

“The Defense Ministry cannot consider; that this report brings any proof whatsoever contradicting the facts described by the French armed forces,” a statement said; insisting that international humanitarian law governing armed conflicts was strictly observed during the strike.