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A French army Mirage 2000 plane crashed in an uninhabited area in central Mali on Tuesday. Material damage is believed to be the cause of the accident, which did not claim any victims.
A French Mirage 2000 D, victim of damage, crashed Tuesday, July 20 in the vicinity of Hombori, in central Mali, but its two occupants were ejected and were recovered, announced the French army .
One of the crew members, made up of a pilot and a weapons system navigator officer, was slightly injured and taken to the Gao base, the Army press service said.
Both ejected over an uninhabited area and the plane also crashed in an uninhabited area, according to the same source. The wreckage was located by the Barkhane force.
The accident occurred during an air support mission for the benefit of a French desert tactical group (GTD) and a unit of the Malian armed forces, in reconnaissance along the national road 16, in south of Hombori. The Hombori area, and more broadly the entire Mopti region, has been a particularly targeted area of operations by Barkhane’s forces in recent months.
A combat search and rescue group was immediately engaged, aboard two Cayman helicopters, supported by two Tiger helicopters, to establish a security system and recover the crew.
An investigation must be opened to determine the origin of this accident.
France is leading the Barkhane anti-jihadist military operation in the Sahel with allied armies, but is preparing to initiate a reduction in its military system in the region to ultimately maintain between 2,500 and 3,000 men there against 5,100 today.
The process of closing Barkhane bases in northern Mali is due to start in the “second half of 2021”.
With AFP