A French soldier has died in an attack on the Barkhane military camp in Gao, northern Mali, President Emmanuel Macron's office said in a statement on Sunday, reports FRANCE 24.
Macron's office paid tribute to Brigadier Alexandre Martin of the 54th artillery regiment of Hyères, who was killed in a mortar attack in northern Mali on Saturday.
His death "confirms France's determination to continue the fight against terrorism in the region, alongside its partners," the statement from the Elysée Palace said.
The soldier was killed in a salvo of around a dozen artillery rounds that were fired at the French military base, a statement from the defence ministry said.
Nine others were injured by the rounds, which were launched from an area known to be used by the Qaeda-linked GSIM Islamist insurgent group, a military spokesman said.
"Deep sadness at the news of the death in combat of Brigadier Alexandre Martin on January 22nd in Gao, Mali. I salute his commitment," the French army's chief of general staff tweeted on Sunday.
More than 4,000 French forces are stationed in the Sahel region of West Africa as part of the Barkhane anti-terror operation, most of them in Mali.