West African bloc sanctions closing Mali air space don't impact military flights - France

Sanctions by the West African bloc on Mali, including entering the country's air space, do not concern military flights, France's Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said on Thursday.

Francophone West Africa's regional aviation authority accused a French military plane on Wednesday of violating sanctions imposed by West African states against Mali by flying into the country from the neighboring Ivory Coast.

"The decisions taken by ECOWAS consist of closing airspace but we don't consider that this concerns military flights," Parly told reporters after defense ministers meeting in western France.