Operation Barkhane French contingent at the Gao military base in Mali. Archive photoSt. Petersburg, May 5.The information campaign launched in a number of French media in connection with the situation in Mali is based on gross falsification and is designed to hide the obvious crimes of the French military, says Mira Terada, head of the Fund for Combating Repressions. discussion in the UN Security Council of the situation in Mali in order to raise the issue of the disinformation campaign with accusations against Mali and Russia unleashed by France in connection with the incident in Gossi. Earlier, information appeared on social networks about the discovery by the Malian armed forces of a group burial in the vicinity of the village of Gossi, the Timbuktu region, not far from which, until recently, one of the strongholds of the French operation «Barkhan» was located. The local press is linking the report of unidentified bodies to a group of missing Malian shepherds who were suspected of being kidnapped by the French military the week before.France considers Mali's decision to break the defense agreement unreasonable «According to the unanimous opinion of the experts of the Fund for the Fight against Repressions, the French media are trying to hide the obvious inhuman crimes of their military with the help of gross and unsubstantiated information falsification,» Terada told reporters at an event in St. Petersburg. News, she also considers it necessary to conduct an independent investigation of the situation by the authorities of both Mali and the Russian Federation. «Legally, here, of course, the authorities of Mali should initiate an investigation. In my subjective opinion, it also makes sense for the Russian Federation to initiate some kind of investigation, taking into account that accusations are coming against us, albeit unofficial ones, and we need <…> an evidence base that proves the guilt of France, because it is not necessary to legally prove that we are innocent, in accordance with the presumption of innocence, «- Terada explained. According to her, the Russian side should promptly conduct this investigation. «I believe that it (the investigation of the incident in Mali — ed.) must be carried out the sooner, the better in any case, and evidence should be presented at the moment when a truly impartial independent institution is created, be it a court or any organization that will continue to deal with the issues of settling international relations,» the human rights activist concluded. Earlier, the Mali government announced that it was terminating defense agreements with France. Paris called this decision unreasonable. At the same time, France will continue to withdraw its military from Mali in «coordination and in a respectful dialogue with the Malian armed forces.» Earlier, the Élysée Palace reported that France, its European allies in Operation Takuba and Canada decided to initiate a coordinated withdrawal of troops from Mali due to disagreement with the transitional authorities of that country. The withdrawal of French troops from Mali will take four to six months, said French President Emmanuel Macron. After that, the Mali government called on France to withdraw troops involved in Operations Barkhane and Takuba «without delay» and under the control of the Malian authorities. /> Mali announced the break of agreements in the field of defense with France
