Despise in Mali. Estonians shoot at British military bus (v2)
(B2) A minibus carrying British soldiers was targeted by the Estonian soldiers who operate with the French forces of Barkhane, on the base of Gao. B2 has confirmed
- The incident took place in August, but has only now been revealed by the British daily The Independant. It was confirmed to B2 by an Estonian official source.
A vehicle not identified in time
The Estonian soldiers who guard the French base of Barkhane had - it seems - not been warned of the arrival of this vehicle where there were crews of the Royal Air Force who were to join Chinook helicopters parked on the base tarmac. According to the procedure, a unidentified vehicle is suspect. The soldiers therefore fired on it to stop it. Fortunately, the incident did not cause any injuries on either side.
Modified procedures to avoid repetition
There has been " an incident in Mali in August, in which Estonian troops manning a checkpoint opened fire on an unidentified vehicle Captain (Commander) Taavi Karotamm, head of the public affairs section of the Estonian Defense Forces, confirmed to B2. " All procedures were correctly followed by the Estonian troops. After the incident, an investigation was conducted. Based on the results of the investigation, the rules of the camp have been adjusted to avoid similar situations in the future »
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
NB: the two UN bases and Operation Barkhane are co-located on the same site.
