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France rejects reports of airstrike on Mali wedding

The French military said it carried out a strike on jihadist militants in central Mali, but that no wedding was involved.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

Reports from Mali say more than 20 people, including children, were killed when an airstrike hit a wedding party in a remote village at the weekend, reports the BBC.

Residents of Bounti, in the central Mopti region, said a helicopter opened fire on the ceremony on Sunday.

The French military, which has troops in the region, said it carried out a strike on jihadist militants in central Mali, but that no wedding was involved.

Five French soldiers have been killed in attacks in Mali in recent days.

On Tuesday, France said a military operation - involving an airstrike and carried out after detailed research and days of tracking individuals - had killed dozens of Islamist insurgents in the region.

A spokesman for the French military, who was not named, told AFP news agency that "reports relating to a wedding do not match the observations that were made".

Read more of this report from the BBC.