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
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.