Bamako, Apr 9 (IANS): Twenty-two terrorists were killed in various operations of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) conducted between March 22 and April 7, said the Directorate of Information and Public Relations of the Armed Forces (Dirpa).

The offensive reconnaissance in the Segou region claimed the lives of four terrorists in the Niono area. The army also arrested six terrorists, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement by Dirpa.

In the southern zone, three elements of the Armed Terrorist Groups (GAT) were killed, said the statement, adding that military patrols in the border area with Burkina Faso also killed 15 terrorists.

The Dirpa statement came at a time when the Malian government is facing accusations of massacre of civilians by the army in Moura, in the center of the country.

According to Dirpa, 203 elements of the Armed Terrorist Groups (GAT) were killed in a large-scale air-ground operation of the FAMa on March 23-31 in this area. But the United Nations and human rights organizations said this could be a mistake that cost civilians their lives.

On Thursday the head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), El-Ghassim Wane, called for the Malian government to allow "imperative" access to Moura for the purposes of an independent investigation.

Since 2012, Mali has been facing a deep multifaceted crisis at the security, political and economic levels.

Independence insurgencies, jihadist incursions and inter-community violence have left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced in the West African country.