The two were killed on Saturday in the northeastern Kidal region, the Élysée Palace announced.
A third soldier was wounded in the explosion.
French President Emmanuel Macron expresses his “deep respect” for the soldiers’ “sacrifice” and sends his “sincere condolences to their families and loved ones”, the presidential office said.
Minister for the armed forces, Florence Parly paid tribute to the two paratroopers for their service to their country, saying their sacrifice was true to the spirit of the Bercheny Hussar Regiment.
Deux hussards parachutistes de l'opération Barkhane sont morts pour la France aujourd'hui au Mali. Je m’incline devant leur serment de servir jusqu’au bout avec honneur, qui incarne l’esprit des hussards de Bercheny. pic.twitter.com/5e3QZrs7bi
— Florence Parly (@florence_parly) September 5, 2020
France started its military operations in the country in 2013, after Mali asked it to help regain territory seized by Islamist extremists who had hijacked a Tuareg rebellion in the country’s northern desert regions the previous year.
The French military succeeded in this initial task – but the jihadist insurgency has since spread throughout Mali and across the border to Niger and Burkina Faso.
Earlier on Saturday, Mali's military junta began talks with opposition groups on Saturday on its promise to hand power back to civilians, after mounting pressure from neighbouring countries since the coup in August.
The West African country has long been plagued by instability, a simmering jihadist revolt, ethnic violence and endemic corruption, prompting a clique of rebel soldiers to detain president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last month.
In its statement announcing the death of the two French soldiers, the president’s office reiterated France’s calls for a swift transition of power to civilian rule in Mali.
(AFP)
