Brigadier Alexandre Martin , of the 54th artillery regiment, was killed in combat in Mali Jan. 22, 2022 (Source: ministère des armées françaises)
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
A French soldier was killed Saturday in a mortar attack on the Operation Barkhane military camp in Gao, Mali as France reduces its forces in the West Africa Sahel region. The French camp was the target of ten mortar shells. Several French soldiers were hit by these shots, including Brigadier Martin. Despite immediate treatment, he succumbed to his injuries while undergoing emergency surgery at the camp’s medical unit, the French minister of the Armed Forces said in a statement. The death of the 24-year-old artilleryman brings to 53 the total number of combat deaths suffered by French forces since they first deployed troops in the Sahel in 2013 for its battle against Islamist extremists. French President Macron announced last July that France will cease its mission to fight jihadism in the Sahel in the first quarter of this year. France will then gradually reduce troops in the Sahel from its current 5,100 soldiers to 2,500 by the year 2023.
Profonde tristesse à l’annonce de la mort au combat du brigadier Alexandre Martin le 22/01 à Gao au Mali. Je salue son engagement. Toutes mes pensées vont vers sa famille, ses proches et ses frères d’armes. pic.twitter.com/uGk9l4wurj
— Chef d'état-major des armées (@CEMA_FR) January 23, 2022
“France remains determined to combat the terrorism raging in the Sahel and attacking civilian populations. The Minister for the Armed Forces salutes the commitment of all soldiers deployed in the field to fight armed terrorist groups.”
-Minister for the Armed Forces
53 French Soldiers Killed in Sahel Operation Barkhane Since 2013
France Army Operation Barkhane Master Corporal Maxime Blasco, 34, was killed died in a battle with a terrorist group in West Africa Mali Sept. 24, 2021. ( Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères)
(credit: defense.gouv.fr) BCH Tanerii MAURI, 1 CL Quentin PAUCHET and 1 CL Dorian ISSAKHANIAN of the 1st Chasseurs regiment of Thierville-sur-Meuse were killed Dec. 28, 2020 in the region of Hombori, Mali.
Mali is currently a political mess, having gone through two military coups last year. Now there is a real risk the country could come under Islamist influence by the very extremists that France is waging counter-terror war against. Operation Barkhane is a $1 Billion per year mission.
French brigadier-chef Andy Fila died in north-central Africa Chad on July 31, 2020. / (Etat Major des Armées)
1st Class Parachute Hussar Tojohasina Razafintsalama, of the France 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment of Tarbes, died in action Jul. 23, 2020 in Mali. / Etat Major des Armées
Sources : EMA / Rights : France Ministère de la Défense
La stratégie sahélienne de la France vise à ce que les États partenaires acquièrent la capacité, d’assurer leur sécurité de façon autonome. Elle repose sur une approche globale (politique, sécuritaire et de développement) dont le volet militaire est porté par l’opération Barkhane, conduite par les armées françaises.
U.S. To Continue to supporting France Counter-terror Mission African Sahel
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III briefs the press from the Pentagon Briefing Room, Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2021. (DoD Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jack Sanders).
The U.S. Department of Defense will continue to support France as the French military is set to end its Operation Barkhane counter-terror mission in the African Sahel this year.
The Pentagon remains committed to supporting France in its counter-terror efforts in the Sahel region, a spokesperson said.
“I think it’s too soon to tell. But nothing will change about our commitment to continue to support France in these efforts. So broadly speaking, that doesn’t change. How they change their footprint of their operations is really for them to speak to, but the secretary was very clear, and we’ve been consistent. We’re going to continue to support them as they need it, and as their needs change, regardless of footprint, and as their needs change, we’ll adapt our support to best meet their requirements, and frankly, ours too, because we have a shared security interest in -in dealing with the terrorism threats there in the Sahel.”
– Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby
