[France24] A French serviceman was killed early on Friday in a clash with an armed militant group in Mali, French officials said.More than 50 French soldiers have died in the region since Paris deployed a counterterrorism force in 2013 to drive back Islamist militant groups that had seized cities and towns in northern Mali.
According to a statement from the French defence ministry, the soldier who was killed, Maxime Blasco, was part of a French unit deployed to a forested area near Mali’s border with Burkina Faso.