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In Mali, the transitional authorities block the Minusma . fact-finding mission(UN Mission in Mali) in Moura, this village in the center of the country where the Malian armed forces are accused of a massacre, under the cover of an anti-terrorist operation, between 23 and 31 March.
While the authorities announced the opening of an investigation on Thursday, April 7, the Civilian Coalition for the Sahel, which unites dozens of West African and international associations, reminds us: this investigation by the Malian military court should not conclude the Minusma investigation. According to the coalition, this is the best way to expose the events transparently and publicly.
Further research?
Together with RFI, Hassatou Ba Minté, Africa Manager of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), one of the member organizations of the coalition, explains to us that the investigation of the UN mission in Mali can in fact be complementary to an action by the Malian judicial authorities.
† This is really the first request from the Malian and international civil society that we represent within the coalition, and that an independent inquiry should be allowed. We have, of course, followed the reactions of the Malian military authorities, in particular with regard to the pending investigation, but none of this prevents and should not prevent such an in-depth investigation from being organized by the Minusma, which must be able to have easy access to the whole territory. †
† A report that is made public †
† An investigation by organizations such as Minusma also makes it possible to confirm the elements and verify the facts more thoroughly. And above all to allow a report to be made public and passed on to the Malian authorities as well as to international and regional institutions, to ECOWAS [Communauté économique des Etats d’Afrique de l’Ouest], to the African Union and, of course, first and foremost to the people of Mali and to Malian civil society. This report can therefore in fact supplement action by the judicial authorities. †
Also read: Mali: Russia vetoes UN request to investigate alleged massacre in Moura
