A tribute in two forms. The French soldier of Malagasy origin killed Thursday in Mali by a suicide vehicle will receive a final tribute on Monday at the Invalides in Paris, the Army said. "Meet tomorrow at 4.30 pm on the Alexandre-III bridge in Paris, or virtually on our social networks, to salute the memory of Brigadier Tojohasina Razafintsalama", indicates a tweet from the staff.
[#HommageEnDirect] Meet tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. on the Alexandre III bridge in Paris, or virtually on our social networks, to salute the memory of Brigadier Tojohasina RAZAFINTSALAMA of # 1RHP, who died for France, who will cross the bridge before the tribute to # Invalids. pic.twitter.com/AFFEFwlNxv
- Army (@armeedeterre) July 26, 2020The soldier, who belonged to the first regiment of parachute hussars (RHP) of Tarbes, will cross the bridge before paying homage to the Invalides. A second ceremony is scheduled for the week in Tarbes, where the 1st RHP is based, on a date that has not yet been specified.
Tojohasina Razafintsalama was born on October 20, 1994 in Mahazarivo, Madagascar. This single child without children signed up with the 1st RHP in 2018 and was sent to Mali on July 14.
43 dead soldiers
His death brings to 43 the number of French soldiers killed in combat in operations Serval (2013) and Barkhane (since 2014), according to the staff. It comes after that, in early May, of two legionnaires of the French force Barkhane in the Sahel, which has some 5,000 soldiers. In November 2019, France had lost 13 soldiers in an accident between two helicopters in operation in Mali.
In recent months, the French army and those of the G5 Sahel countries have stepped up offensives in the region, in particular in the area known as the “three borders” between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
They demanded the "neutralization" of dozens of jihadists, including, in June, the emir of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqmi), and the Algerian Abdelmalek Droukdal, a figure of jihadism in the region for 20 years.