THE men gathered for a wedding, they said — one more somber than those of the past. Strict rules have warped life in their central Mali village since the extremists invaded: no music or dancing. No mingling with women. Smoke a cigarette and get beaten.
Parties, even conservative ones, invite punishment, so they wanted to celebrate quickly in a remote field, according to two guests. Grilled mutton and beef were about to be served when bombs fell from the sky.
“We heard what sounded like a plane and then a loud noise,” said one guest, a 46-year-old teacher. The Washington Post is withholding the teacher’s name out of security concerns. “Suddenly there were wounded people everywhere. Body parts everywhere.”
What happened on the afternoon of Jan. 3 is hotly disputed. The French military took responsibility for an airstrike near Bounti in the Mopti region, saying in a Jan. 7 statement that
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