A French soldier killed in Gao. Several others injured in mortar attack

(B2) This is not the first time Gao's camp has been attacked. But this time the attack was deadly.

The attack was committed with a mortar on Saturday afternoon (January 22) on this gigantic base - where the French forces of Barkhane (with Estonians in support) and the blue helmets of the Minusma are collocated - located in the northern part of the mali. Several soldiers were hit.

Brigadier Alexandre Martin, of the 54th artillery regiment of Hyères, was very seriously injured. Despite the rapid treatment by the medical-surgical team on site, he is " died of his injuries ” announces the staff this Sunday (January 23). Nine other soldiers were more lightly injured.

Born in March 1997 in Rouen, aged 24, he joined the army at a very young age, six years ago. He had been in Mali since October with part of his regiment.

The Gao camp was the target of several mortar attacks last December. Fortunately without causing casualties (read: MINUSMA targets several attacks in a few days). In July 2019, a suicide attack with a vehicle bomb injured several people, some of them seriously (read: Several French and Estonian soldiers injured in Gao during a suicide attack)

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)