This 53th death since the beginning of France’s commitment to the Sahel is part of more and more acute tensions with the Malian junta, as well as a regional instability that continues to gain ground. , especially in Burkina Faso.
by
The pressure does not falter on the military of the operation “Barkhane”. While the French forces deployed at the Sahel are now officially disengaged from northern Mali and refocused around the city of Gao, in the east, a French soldier lost his life, Saturday, January 22, as part of an attack at Mortar against what is now the main base of “Barkhane” in the country, apart from its locations in Niamey (Niger) and N’Djamena (Chad).
The attack has occurred around 17 hours Saturday and killed a 24-year-old soldier, Brigadier Alexandre Martin, from 54 e Hyères Artillery Regiment (Var). Seriously injured, “he was immediately supported but succumbed to his injuries,” said the staff of the armies in a statement, stating that nine other soldiers had been slightly injured during these shots. Helicopters were then engaged “to intercept and neutralize the terrorists at the origin of the shots”, according to the same press release.
This attack was followed on Sunday of mortars against another base, in Menaka, even more east, where the French army is implanted in Mali as well as the Task Force “Takuba”, this coalition European special forces. But the mortar shell shots, who did not make a victim this time, targeted the part of the base where the blue helmets of the United Nations mission (UNMUSMA) live. In Menaka as in Gao, the military of “Barkhane” share their base with MINUSMA and the Malian Armed Forces (Fama).
This kind of attack on the basics of “Barkhane”, Fama or Minusma regularly occur. The French have already known, especially in the North. The last to have been the subject of a public report had already targeted Gao’s hold. It was December 5, 2021. Four rockets had been drawn, but it was then against the part of the base housing the Fama. It has also happened that the French bases are the subject of coordinated attacks, which is not the case this time, according to the staff of the armies.
Tensions of Unpublished level
The death of this French soldier in Mali, the 53 e Since the beginning of France’s commitment to the Sahel, is nevertheless in a very uncertain context. The tensions between Paris and the Malian junta, arrived in power as part of a coup d’etat MI-2021, reached an unprecedented level. The whole of the international community has pleaded for the holding of elections, the Malian authorities appear for the deaf time to the sanctions taken against them – in particular by the Economic Community of the States of West Africa – and engaged in a complex political game to save time.
You have 43.99% of this article to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.