Operation Barkhane: a brigadier killed in Mali

Brigadier Alexandre Martin was 24 years old. In a statement, theÉlysée announced his death on Sunday January 23. “It is with very deep emotion that the President of the Republic learned of the death in Mali of Brigadier Alexandre Martin.“ The soldier arrived three months ago in Gao, the main French military base in Mali. Saturday, January 22, shortly before 5 p.m., a dozen mortar shells fell on the camp. Alexandre Martin is seriously injured, and dies shortly after. The position of the shots is marked: immediately, a patrol of attack helicopters sets off. The assailants are killed, the attack has still not been claimed.

The soldier had spent his entire career with the 54th Hyères infantry regiment (var). The attack on the base Gao occurs in a delicate context: the French military presence is disputed. “We are facing a junta that refuses democratic transition”, underlines Hervé Grandjean, spokesperson for the Ministry of the Armed Forces. The Malian street is increasingly showing its hostility towards the French presence. There are 5,000 French soldiers in Mali today, there should no longer be stay only half in a year.