The army is “in a time of meditation” after the death of this young brigadier of Operation Barkhane in Gao, confides the Spokesperson for the Chief of Defense Staff.
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Brigadier Alexandre Martin was killed on Saturday January 22 in Mali, after the mortar attack on the military camp of Operation Barkhane in Gao, Mali. He was 24 years old and had six years of service, according to Colonel Pascal Lanni, spokesperson for the Chief of the Defense Staff, who paid tribute to him this Sunday on franceinfo.
Franceinfo: How was the brigadier killed?
Pascal Lanni: Saturday, a little before 5 p.m., Paris time, the platform Gao Desert was the target of mortar shell fire. Several of these shells fell in the French part of the platform and Brigadier Alexandre Martin was very seriously injured. He was taken care of immediately by the surgical branch of the Gao camp and succumbed to his injuries. Brigadier Alexandre Martin was 24 years old, he had six years of service. It was his third mission outside metropolitan France since he had already served in Guyana and Martinique and he was serving in the 54th artillery regiment of Hyères.
How is it possible to attack a military camp with mortar, this way?
This type of attack is conducted from positions that are located several kilometers from the Gao camp. In this case, it is estimated that the terrorists who targeted the camp fired from a position that was approximately six or seven kilometers east of the French platform. Six or seven kilometers is a long way to get direct views. Immediately after the firing, Barkhane dispatched a patrol of reconnaissance and attack helicopters to intercept and neutralize the attackers.
And were you able to intercept or neutralize them?
I have no comment to make on this action at this stage. There, we are both in a time of contemplation, which is obvious and which is shared by all the armies, but we are also determined to continue this fight alongside our Sahelian partners, with our European and North American allies. Americans. At the military level, it does not call into question. We are really determined to continue this fight, there is no doubt about it.