The staff of the armed forces announced on Friday, July 31 the death of a French soldier in an accident and now in Mali. "While he was performing maintenance on a refrigeration unit of the base Kossei in n'djamena, Chad brigadier-chef Andy Fila, electromechanical refrigeration of the force Barkhane, was fatally hit by the explosion" of a gas bottle, said the press release. He died of his injuries. The army opened an investigation.
[#CEMA] I present all my condolences to the family, friends and brothers-in-arms brigadier-chef Andy FILA, of the 14th Infantry regiment of Logistical Support Paratrooper (RISLP), who died accidentally that day in outdoor operation in n'djamena, chad. General Lecointre pic.twitter.com/ZtzOprmHD8
— Staff-Armed forces (@EtatMajorFR) July 31, 2020
25-year-Old, and father of a child, brigadier-chef Andy Fila belonged to the 14th regiment of infantry, and logistics support paratrooper in Toulouse. He had been deployed several times in external operations. Already sent to Mali in 2016, it was returned in June. The chief of staff of the armed forces, army general François Lecointre, " bows with a profound sadness at the memory of this military death in operations ", specifies the general staff, reports of injuries but without giving details.
the national Assembly, at the request of the LR Thibault Bazin, the deputies have made spontaneously in tribute to this soldier, observing a minute of silence, in the margin of the examination of the draft law on bioethics. Operation Barkhane has around 5 100 soldiers. In total, 43 French soldiers died in combat in the operations Serval (2013) and Barkhane (since 2014), according to the staff. A count which does not include the accidents.
