BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Airstrikes on a village in northern Mali near the Algerian border Sunday killed 21 civilians, including 11 children, a spokesman for a coalition of Tuareg-majority pro-independence groups said.

If confirmed, the attack on the village of Tinzaouatine would mark the largest number of civilians killed by drones since the breakdown of a peace agreement between the country’s ruling military junta and armed pro-independence groups in northern Mali last year.

The Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad is a coalition of Tuareg-majority groups fighting for the independence of northern Mali, which they call Azawad.

The strikes Sunday targeted a pharmacy, then other strikes followed that targeted people gathering in the vicinity of the initial damage, the coalition said in a statement.

“The provisional toll of these criminal strikes stands at 21 civilians killed, including 11 children and the pharmacy manager, dozens wounded and enormous material damage," said the statement signed by Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesman for the rebel coalition present in the village.

In a statement broadcast on national television, Mali’s armed forces confirmed the strikes.

“The General Staff of the Armed Forces confirms airstrikes in the Tinzaouatine sector on the morning of August 25, 2024. These precision strikes targeted terrorists,” the statement said.

The strikes come a few weeks after the Malian army and mercenaries from the Russia-based Wagner Group were defeated by Tuareg rebels and fighters from the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, an al-Qaida linked group.

The strikes Sunday targeted a pharmacy, then other strikes followed that targeted people gathering in the vicinity of the initial damage, the coalition said in a statement.

“Malian forces along with Russian mercenaries lack strong presence on the ground in the Kidal region, so the use of air assets, including drones is the only way they could engage against armed groups in the area," said Rida Lyammouri, a senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Moroccan think tank. "Therefore airstrikes, including against civilians, are expected to increase as an act of revenge following the recent major setback to Wagner mercenaries in northern Mali.”

News from © The Associated Press, 2024