The French soldier of Malagasy origin killed Thursday July 23 in Mali by a suicide vehicle will receive a final tribute Monday July 27 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.
The soldier, who belonged to the 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment (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.
Read also: A French soldier killed in Mali in fighting against armed groups
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.
"Neutralization" of several dozen jihadists
His death brings to 43 the number of French soldiers killed in combat in operations "Serval" (2013) and "Barkhane" (since 2014), according to the general staff. It comes after that, at the beginning of May, of two legionnaires of the French force "Barkhane" in the Sahel, which counts some 5000 soldiers. In November 2019, France had lost 13 soldiers in an accident between two helicopters in operation in Mali.
To read also: Sahel: the future of "Barkhane" is played in the coming months
In recent months, the French army and those of the G5 Sahel countries have stepped up offensives in the region, in particular in the so-called “ three borders ” area between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
They demanded the “ neutralization ” of dozens of jihadists, including in June the emir of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqmi), the Algerian Abdelmalek Droukdel, a figure of jihadism in the region for 20 years.
See also - Death of French soldier Tojohasina Razafintsalama in Mali
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/2C5HI6YHNFHDLJSBNWHOIAS2AE.jpeg)
