Africa

French Soldier Deployed in Mali Dies in Accident - Land Forces

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - French Cpl. Abdelatif Rafik died in an accident while deployed in Mali, as part of Operation Barkhane, the French Land Forces said Thursday.
Sputnik

"Dead on an operation abroad: the land forces are mourning the death of corporal Abdelatif Rafik of 14e RISLP [14th regiment of infantry and paratrooper logistical support]," the Land Forces said on Twitter.

According to the French military, Rafik was a driver of a multi-purpose logistic carrier vehicle within Operation Barkhane in Mali.

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The corporal was killed while in a repair workshop during maintenance on a truck, as a tire exploded hurling him off.

Operation Barkhane is an anti-terrorist operation in Africa's Sahel region that has been ongoing since 2014. It includes not only Mali, but Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Niger as well.

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