France, May 4 -- The FLA issued a statement on Friday rejecting the term "terrorist", which has been used by Mali's transitional authorities and by several international actors in response to the coordinated attacks on 25 April.

Fighters from the FLA and militants from Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a group linked to al-Qaeda, carried out the attacks across the country, hitting the main army base outside the capital and killing Defence Minister General Sadio Camara.

The group presents itself as a politico-military movement and rejects the label.

"The FLA is not a terrorist organisation because it carries the aspirations of an entire people," Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, the group's spokesperson, said in its statement. "It...