The remains of the French soldier who died in Mali will cross the Alexandre III bridge on Monday, July 27, 2020. - Bastien LOUVET / SIPA

The meeting is set at 4.30 p.m. this Monday on the Alexandre III bridge in Paris. The army and the French state will pay a final tribute to the French soldier of Malagasy origin killed Thursday in Mali by a suicide vehicle, said the Army. Tojohasina Razafintsalama, aged 25, belonged to the 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment (RHP) of Tarbes.

His remains will cross the bridge before the homage to the Invalides. A second ceremony is scheduled for the week in Tarbes, where the 1st RHP is based, on a date that has not yet been specified. Born October 20, 1994 in Mahazarivo, Madagascar, this childless bachelor joined the 1st RHP in 2018 and was sent to Mali on July 14.

Multiplication of offensives

His death brings to 43 the number of French soldiers killed in combat in operations Serval (2013) and Barkhane (since 2014), according to the staff. It comes after that, at the beginning of May, of two legionnaires of the French force Barkhane in the Sahel, which counts some 5,000 soldiers. In November 2019, France had lost 13 soldiers in an accident between two helicopters in operation in Mali.

[#HommageEnDirect] Meet tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. on the Alexandre III bridge in Paris, or virtually on our social networks, to salute the memory of Brigadier Tojohasina RAZAFINTSALAMA of # 1RHP, who died for France, who will cross the bridge before the tribute to # Invalids. pic.twitter.com/AFFEFwlNxv

- Army (@armeedeterre) July 26, 2020

In recent months, the French army and those of the G5 Sahel countries have stepped up offensives in the region, in particular in the so-called “three borders” area between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

They demanded the "neutralization" of several dozen jihadists, including in June the emir of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqmi), the Algerian Abdelmalek Droukdal, a figure of jihadism in the region for 20 years.

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