Adrien Quélin, a French soldier in the anti-jihadist operation Barkhane died on Tuesday, October 12, accidentally at the Timbuktu base in Mali, the staff announced on Wednesday.
Read also Behind the scenes of the elimination of the emir of Daesh in the Sahel
The marshal of the logis Adrien Quélin, a 29-year-old mechanic belonging to the 4th regiment of hunters of Gap, “
carried out a maintenance operation on a truck.
He was seriously injured by the tilting of the cab of this truck while he was working on the engine of the vehicle,
”according to a statement.
“
Despite the immediate support by the emergency services on the spot, he could not be resuscitated.
He died of his injuries.
An investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances of the accident,
”continues the staff.
Single and childless, Maréchal des Logis Quélin is the 7th French soldier to die accidentally in the Sahel since 2013 in the anti-jihadist operations Serval and then Barkhane.
53 soldiers also died in combat over the same period.
The most recent was Master Corporal Maxime Blasco, a commando of the 7th battalion of Alpine hunters from Varces (Isère), killed by a sniper in the Gossi region, during an operation against a terrorist group.
Tense context
Paris undertook in June to reorganize its military system in the Sahel, notably by leaving the northernmost bases of Mali (Kidal, Timbuktu and Tessalit) and by planning to reduce its personnel in the region by 2023 to 2500-3000 men, against more than 5,000 today as relations between Paris and Bamako have deteriorated.
Read also Operation Barkhane leaves its base in Kidal
This new death comes as Paris claimed the "
neutralization
" in August in Mali of the leader of the jihadist group Islamic State in the Great Sahara (EIGS), Adnan Abou Walid al-Sahraoui, an operation described as "
major success
" for France in the time when his troops are reorganizing in the Sahel to focus on the fight against terrorism.
But it also intervenes in a tense context between Paris and the junta in power in Bamako, which plans to conclude a contract with the sulphurous Russian paramilitary company Wagner, described as close to Russian power.
A deployment of these mercenaries would be "
incompatible
" with the maintenance in Mali of French troops, who have been fighting jihadists in the Sahel for eight years, warned the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian.
