Mali rejects UN report on alleged execution of 500 villagers by troops
MALI'S interim military government has rejected a United Nations human rights office report on the alleged execution of at least 500 people by Malian soldiers and unidentified foreign fighters during an operation last year. The ruling junta was responding to a report released on Friday after a months-long investigation into what rights groups described as the worst atrocity in a 10-year conflict between Islamist groups and the army. "The transitional government vehemently denounces this biased report that is based on a fictitious narrative and does not meet established international standards," government spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga said in a statement on Saturday. The report…