"On October 12, at the Relay Desert Platform Camp (PfDR) in Timbuktu, Mali, field marshal and mechanic of the Desert Tactical Group Roc Noir of the Barkhane Force Adrien Quelin was carrying out a maintenance operation on a truck. He was severely injured by the cabin of the vehicle which overturned as he was working on it's engine. Despite immediate medical attention, he could not be saved and died from sustained injuries," the ministry said in a statement.
An investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances of the accident, the statement noted.
French Chief of Defence Staff General Thierry Burkhard extended his condolences to Quelin's family and friends.
France has been conducting Operation Barkhane against terrorist groups in the Sahel region – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – since 1 August 2014.
In June, French President Emmanuel Macron announced changes to the French military presence in Africa's Sahel region, including the end of the counterterror Operation Barkhane in the Sahel by the first quarter of 2022. The French leader said that a broader international effort would be made instead.