Thirteen French soldiers of the Barkhane Force were killed in the collision of two of their helicopters taking part “in a fight against jihadists” in Mali’s north-eastern town of Menaka, The French Foreign Affairs Ministry announced Tuesday in a statement seen by APA.
The tragedy occurred Monday evening, when the two aircraft collided with each other during the flight, the statement said, specifying that six of the victims were officers, six others non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and the last victim was a master corporal.
According to the same statement, the 13 soldiers belonged essentially to the “Pau Combat Helicopter Regiment and the Gap Fighter Regiment.” With 4,500 men, the Barkhane Force has suffered with this tragedy its biggest loss since its deployment in Mali in August 2014.
Reacting to the tragedy, French President Emmanuel Macron hailed “with utmost respect the memory of these fallen soldiers in operation, who died for France in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel.”
For her part, the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, announced the opening of an investigation to determine the circumstances of this crash.
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