French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Friday cast doubt on Mali's claim to have "neutralised" 203 jihadists in Moura, with witnesses claiming Malian forces actually killed scores of civilians.

"The authorities in Bamako announce 200 terrorists killed, without civilian casualties. I have a hard time believing, I have a hard time understanding, I have a hard time accepting these explanations," he said.

"There needs to be a United Nations investigation and we demand this," he added.

"It is the role of the United Nations to carry out this investigation... except that at the moment they do not have the ability to access the area of the centre where these atrocities were committed," he said.

Russia meanwhile has congratulated Mali on an "important victory" against "terrorism" and described as "disinformation" allegations about the massacre of civilians by Malian forces, as well as claims about the involvement of Russian mercenaries in the operation.

The Russian foreign ministry also accused the West of "staging" a campaign aimed at "putting the emphasis on Moscow's participation in war crimes".

Bamako denies the presence of mercenaries from the Russian group Wagner in Mali, acknowledging only the presence of Russian "instructors" and "trainers" under a bilateral cooperation agreement with Moscow dating from the 1960s.

In a report, Human Rights Watch said Malian soldiers and foreign fighters executed 300 civilians between March 27 and 31 in Moura.

The UN special envoy for Mali, El-Ghassim Wane, on Thursday called on the Malian authorities to provide access to the area.

Moscow hails Mali 'victory' after Moura operation
Moscow (AFP) April 8, 2022 - Russia congratulated Mali Friday for a "key victory" against "terrorism" after an operation in Moura that Mali said killed 203 jihadists, but which rights groups called a civilian massacre.

"The armed forces of Mali carried out a successful military operation, in which more than 200 Islamist fighters were killed in the village of Moura," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

"We would like to congratulate Malians on this important victory in the fight against the terrorist threat."

The Russian foreign ministry dismissed as "disinformation" allegations that the operation led to a massacre of civilians in the central Mali village.

It also rubbished allegations of the involvement of Russian mercenaries, accusing the West of having "staged" a campaign aimed at "putting the emphasis on Moscow's participation in war crimes."

"We are not indifferent to the fate of the Malian people, we are bound by traditionally friendly relations with this country," the statement said.

"We have helped our Malian friends and we will continue to do so."

The Malian army and witnesses interviewed by the press and Human Rights Watch offered a drastically different version of the events in Moura between March 27 and 31.

Mali's army says it "neutralised" 203 jihadists in a major operation in the region which is the epicentre of jihadist violence in the Sahel.

The interviewed witnesses reported a mass of summary executions of civilians, rapes and looting by Malian soldiers and foreign fighters believed to be Russians.

Mali army says 19 'terrorists', 3 armed groups eliminated
Bamako (AFP) April 8, 2022 - Nineteen "terrorists" and three armed groups have been eliminated by Malian forces in operations against jihadists since March 22, the military said in a statement.

It announced the "neutralisation of four terrorists in the Niono zone" in the centre of the country, as well as the elimination of "three armed terrorist groups" in the Baoule forest and "15 terrorists" in the Manfoune, Vanekui and Mandiakui sectors.

AFP was not able to verify the death toll given by the Malian army.

Military communications director Colonel Souleymane Dembele did not respond to a question on possible military losses during the operations mentioned in the statement.

He did say however that eight soldiers had been killed in Moura in "fighting on the outskirts and... around the city."

The latest toll is in addition to 203 fighters the military said it had killed in a "large-scale" operation in the Moura region in March.

Witnesses interviewed by media and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have spoken of a large-scale massacre of civilians in Moura. HRW has said 300 were killed by Malian soldiers and foreign fighters.

Ruled by a military junta since August 2020, Mali has been in turmoil since 2012.

Jihadist attacks have spread from the north to the centre of the country and into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

The UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, says nearly 600 civilians were killed in 2021 in violence blamed mainly on jihadist groups, but also on vigilante groups and the armed forces.

Mali's military judiciary on Wednesday announced the opening of an investigation into last month's events at Moura.

The United Nations' envoy for Mali, El-Ghassim Wane, on Thursday voiced support for that announcement but called on the authorities to let the UN enter the remote area.

An alliance of campaign groups from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger called the Citizens' Coalition for the Sahel has called for an independent inquiry, "so that light will be fully shed on the serious violations of human rights by the Malian armed forces, notably at Moura."

"The drama in Moura is just the latest in a series of alleged crimes against civilians by various actors" in the three countries, it said.

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