France's Barkhane camp in Gao, northern Mali, was targeted by mortar fire on Saturday afternoon, a French military source said.
This source reported " indirect
" fire
attributed to suspected jihadists.
No report has been communicated for the moment.
Read alsoMali: the unanswered questions of Operation Barkhane
This attack comes as the reorganization of the French military presence in Mali is underway with the scheduled end of Operation Barkhane after nearly nine years of presence in the Sahel.
This plan provides for a reduction in the workforce in the Sahel, from 5,000 currently, to 2,500/3,000 by 2023.
France undertook in June to reorganize its military posture by leaving its three northernmost bases in Mali (Tessalit, Kidal and Timbuktu) to refocus around Gao and Ménaka.
In this region known as the three borders, on the borders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, the jihadists continue to exercise their power of nuisance and harassment.
In December, mortar fire had already been reported - without causing any casualties - on the bases of Gao and Ménaka.
Mali has been plunged into a serious security and political crisis since the outbreak of independence and jihadist insurgencies in 2012, which then spread to neighboring countries.
The Sahelian country has also been facing heavy sanctions from the West African regional organization ECOWAS since mid-January, against the military junta's plan to continue to govern for several years, and the revoked commitment to organize in February 2022 elections that would have returned the civilians to the leadership of the country.
Colonel Assimi Goïta, brought to the head of Mali by a first coup in August 2020, was invested president "
of the transition
" following a second in May 2021.