Sixth French soldier killed in Mali

On Monday, the French president’s office issued a statement saying that the soldier -- a commando from a parachute regiment -- died in combat in the far north of the country.
 
The statement did not provide any more details on the incident.
 
France launched a war in Mali on January 11, 2013 under the pretext of halting the advance of rebel fighters in the country.
 
On February 1, Amnesty International said “serious human rights breaches” -- including the killing of children -- were occurring in the French war in Mali.
 
Chaos broke out in the West African country after Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure was toppled in a military coup on March 22, 2012. The coup leaders said they mounted the coup in response to the government's inability to contain the Tuareg rebellion in the north of the country, which had been going on for two months.
 
However, in the wake of the coup d’état, the Tuareg rebels took control of the entire northern desert region, but the Ansar Dine extremists then pushed them aside and took control of the region, which is larger than France or Texas.