A French soldier dies in a traffic accident while on a short-term mission in Djibouti

MADRID 31 Oct. () –

A French soldier died this Wednesday in a traffic accident that occurred while returning from military training in Djibouti, where he was deployed on a short-term mission, according to French authorities.

“Deeply moved to learn of the death in a traffic accident, while returning from a shooting exercise, Corporal Vasil Bichik, of the 16th Foot Hunter Battalion, deployed in Djibouti within the Fifth Overseas Combined Arms Regiment,” he said. announced the French Minister of Defense, Sébastien Lecornu, through his profile on the social network X.

The soldier, who “was mortally wounded” and had the Bronze Medal for National Defense and Military Territorial Protection, was deployed with his company from October 2024 to February 2025 within the framework of the defense agreements between Paris and Djibouti, reports the newspaper ‘Le Figaró’.