JAKARTA - Mali's interim military government has rejected a report by the United Nations (UN) human rights office, regarding the alleged execution of at least 500 people by Malian soldiers and unidentified foreign fighters in an operation last year.
The ruling junta was responding to reports released on Friday, after a months-long investigation into what human rights groups have described as the worst atrocities in 10 years of conflict between armed groups and the army.
"The transitional government strongly condemns these biased reports which are based on fictitious narratives and do not meet established international standards," government spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga said in a statement over the weekend.
The report said Malian soldiers and foreign personnel descended by helicopter on the village of Moura on March 27 last year, then opened fire on residents who fled. In a roundup of civilians in the following days, hundreds more were shot and thrown into ditches.
Maiga further said that the country's investigation into possible human rights violations during the operation was still ongoing. But, reiterating previous comments, more armed group fighters are killed than civilians.
"None of the civilians from Moura lost their lives during the military operation. Among those killed, there were only terrorist fighters, and all those arrested were handed over to the gendarmerie," he stressed, stressing the commitment of the authorities to protect human rights.
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It is known, the UN report is based on interviews with victims and witnesses in the West African country, as well as forensic and satellite imagery. Malian authorities refused a request by a UN fact-finding team to access the village of Moura itself.
On the other hand, Maiga said authorities had opened a judicial investigation into the fact-finding mission for allegedly failing to seek permission to take satellite photos of Moura, which was a "clandestine maneuver against Mali's national security."
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