• Number of the week: 19

    On 3 January 2021, the French military bombed a group of men gathered near the village of Bounti, in central Mali. All were “terrorists”, according to officials from France, which had a military presence in the Sahelian country from 2013 to 2022.

    A UN inquiry published three weeks after the attack rejected this hypothesis. Of the 22 people killed, 19 were civilians attending a wedding. The other three were armed men belonging to the Katiba Serma, a mysterious jihadist group. France has always contested the UN report, claiming to have shot down “jihadist fighters” identified after conducting a long “intelligence operation”.

    This article is part of the "The price of peace: weak justice?" edition
    1
    Balkans haunted by warlord folklore
    2
    An unresolved Russian occupation
    3
    Time kills justice for communist crimes
    4
    Spain's 'model' transition battles with truth
    5
    Number of the week: 19