PARIS: A French soldier died and another was injured in a road accident in Mali, where they were both part of a military offensive that chased militants out of the north of the country.
Marc Martin-Vallet, 28, was killed on Tuesday when the transport vehicle he was traveling in fell into a ditch, according to the Defense Ministry.
Martin-Vallet, who had been in the west African country for two months, is the seventh French soldier to die since the beginning of the French-led offensive in Mali on Jan. 11. His is the first accidental death. The crisis in Mali began in March last year when a military mutiny toppled democratically elected president Amadou Toumani Toure.
French soldier dies in Mali road accident
