A legionnaire of the French force Barkhane, injured on April 23 in Mali during an operation against jihadists, died of his injuries on Friday at the Clamart military hospital near Paris, the Elysée Palace announced on Saturday.
Brigadier Dmytro Martynyouk was injured by the explosion of an improvised explosive device, said President Emmanuel Macron in a statement, welcoming "the courage of the French soldiers engaged in the Sahel".
In a statement, the military staff said that on April 23, "a Barkhane force tanker" had been hit by an improvised explosive device in the Liptako - in the particularly unstable area known as the "three borders ”(Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso) - injuring“ the driver and the chief of the vehicle ”.
The two soldiers were evacuated to France on April 24 for medical treatment. Brigadier Dmytro Martynyouk died on May 1 at the Percy military hospital in Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine), while "his comrade's condition is stable, and his vital prognosis is not engaged", according to the staff.
The ministry for the Armed forces learned with emotion and sadness the death within the framework of the operation #barkhane of the brigadier Dmytro Martynyouk, of the 1st foreign regiment of cavalry.
Tribute to this soldier who died for France, in the name of the convictions and values he defended. pic.twitter.com/UEDv7cABuS
This death brings to 42 the number of French soldiers killed in the Sahel since the start of the French intervention in 2013, with Operation Serval, according to a count made from figures published by the general staff.
A legionnaire from Ukraine
Born in Volotchysk in Ukraine, the brigadier Dmytro Martynyouk, who was 29 years old, single and childless, spent his entire career in the 1st foreign regiment of cavalry of Carpiagne in the south of Marseilles, specified the Army.
He joined the Foreign Legion in September 2015 where he successively served as a pilot, shell loader and shooter on an armored vehicle. After a mission in Djibouti in 2017, he had been deployed as chief of a light armored vehicle in Mali where he also served as a truck driver.
The Minister of the Armies Florence Parly bowed "to the engagement [of Brigadier Martynyouk,] which embodies the strength of the Foreign Legion". "France is grateful to those who chose it, to those who give their lives for it," she said in a statement.
Brigadier Dmytro Martynyouk died for France. Legionnaire of Operation Barkhane, he died of his wounds after an explosion in Mali. My thoughts are with his family, his brothers in arms. I bow to his commitment. Our fight continues. pic.twitter.com/AYl761BK8D
- Florence Parly (@florence_parly) May 2, 2020Barkhane's workforce on the rise
In recent weeks, the French army has multiplied the offensives in this region of the Sahel, claiming the "neutralization" of several dozen jihadists in total since the beginning of the year.
Barkhane's workforce has recently increased from 4,500 to 5,100 soldiers. Paris hopes that this reinforcement will make it possible to reverse the balance of forces on the ground, where jihadist groups have multiplied the attacks in recent months.
Emmanuel Macron "praised the determination (of the French soldiers) to continue their mission which makes it possible to strike severe blows at the enemy, alongside their Sahelian brothers in arms".
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- Terrorism
- Emmanuel Macron
- Florence Parly
- Foreign Legion
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