PARIS – France's defense minister on Sunday denied reports that its fighter jets struck civilians at a wedding party in central Mali a week ago, saying that only jihadis were targeted and hit and that she verified the information herself after claims that at least 20 civilians were killed.Some reports said that a helicopter bombed people celebrating a wedding in the village of Bounti, but Defense Minister Florence Parly said no helicopters were engaged in the Jan.
3 strike that “eliminated several dozen jihadis.”“There was neither a marriage, nor women nor children. It was men, exclusively,” Parly said in an interview on broadcaster France Inter. “You can say lots of things … These are facts, exact, proven, cross-checked,.