French troops kill at least 20 civilians in Mali

According to local sources, a helicopter opened fire on a wedding ceremony in the villages of Bounti and Kikara in the central Mopti region on Sunday.

The French Army, which has troops in the region, claimed it carried out an airstrike on Islamic fighters in central Mali, but that no wedding was involved.

Five French soldiers were killed in Mali in the IED’S attacks in the last week.

A total of 50 French soldiers have been killed in the West African nation since France first intervened in 2013 on the pretext of the fight against the armed groups linked to al-Qaeda. (ILKHA)