UN investigators yet to gain access to site of alleged massacre in Mali

UNITED NATIONS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- UN peacekeepers in Mali, who have been dispatched to investigate an alleged massacre by government troops in Moura in the central Mopti region, have yet to gain permission to access the site, said a UN spokesman on Tuesday.

"I can tell you that our peacekeeping colleagues are continuing with their human rights investigation into the incident in Moura, pursuant to their mandate and in support of efforts aimed at establishing the facts of what happened," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"The investigation must be continued on the ground in order to establish the facts. In this regard, a MINUSMA team has been pre-deployed to Mopti and is standing by as the mission remains in constant contact with the Malian authorities to obtain air access to the area," he said, referring to the UN peacekeeping mission by its French acronym.

Asked why the investigators were kept away, Dujarric said: "Obviously, it is vital that the peacekeeping mission has as much freedom of movement as possible. But in any country, if we are told that we cannot access a certain place, we cannot go there by force."

"The Malian authorities are not allowing us to access the site," he said.

The UN mission in Mali is investigating reports of civilians killed during clashes on March 23-31 between government troops and militants. The Malian military said 203 militants were killed in a large-scale air-ground operation in Moura. But media reports said hundreds of civilians lost their lives in the clash.