Mali: 6 civilians killed in French airstrike
LOME, Togo At least six civilians were killed in an airstrike Thursday in the locality of Talataye in Mali, while the French military said it targeted armed terrorist groups. “On 25 March 2021, in the late morning, the Barkhane force carried out a strike neutralizing an armed terrorist group 60 km [37 miles] north of In Deliman,” the French military reported Thursday night in a statement. The release came after several alerts were issued during the day by local sources on civilians’ death. “The strike was carried out based on erroneous information,” reported IdakSahak, a community group of northern tribes in Mali. In a statement, the group rejected France’s claims and named five people it said died in the strike. According to the local notables’ version, they were six young people, four under 16 and two between 18 and 20. They had decided “to spend the day outside the village of Talataye on three motorbikes and armed with a hunting rifle to shoot rabbits and partridge