BAMAKO: A French air strike killed 19 civilians in Mali in January, a UN report said on Tuesday, prompting a strong denial from France.

The French air force struck near the remote village of Bounti on January 3, in circumstances that sparked controversy in the war-torn Sahel state. Residents of the village said the strike hit a wedding party and killed civilians. In the incident’s aftermath, France’s military said it had killed jihadists, not civilians, and also denied the presence of a wedding party in Bounti.

The United Nations mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, subsequently launched an investigation. In a report summarising the probe’s findings, the UN said Tuesday a wedding had in fact taken place and had “gathered about 100 civilians at the site of the strike”. It added that about five armed people, who are thought to be members of the jihadist group Katiba Serma, attended the celebrations. In Paris, the French defence ministry stood by its denial, saying it “maintains with consistency and reaffirms strongly” that an “armed terrorist group” had been identified and attacked.

It also said it had “numerous reservations about the methodology” used in the investigation.

At least 22 people died in the French strike, of whom 19 were civilians, according to the probe. No women or children were killed.

“The group affected by the strike was overwhelmingly composed of civilians who are protected persons under international humanitarian law,” said the report.

The report also questioned whether the French military had enough time to ensure that its strike would not harm civilians. “It appears difficult to discount the presence of civilians... in such a short period of time,” it said. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the report “raises some very significant concerns on the respect of the conduct of hostilities, including precautionary principles and the obligation by member states to do everything (they can) to verify that targets are indeed military objectives.”