A French soldier from the anti-jihadist operation Barkahne accidentally died on Tuesday at the base of
Timbuktu in Mali, the general staff announced on Wednesday. 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 tipping of the cab of this truck while he was working on the engine of the vehicle, ”according to a statement.
The marshal of the logis Adrien Quélin died following an accident during a maintenance operation in Timbuktu in Mali. I salute his commitment and bow to his memory. My thoughts are with his family, relatives and brothers in arms.
– Florence Parly (@florence_parly) October 13, 2021
“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. 52 soldiers also died in combat over the same period.
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 2,500-3,000 men, against more than 5,000 today while relations between Paris and Bamako have deteriorated