Germany medevacs soldiers wounded in Mali

Germany has flown the 12 German troops and one Belgian soldier wounded in a 25 June vehicle-based improvised explosive device attack in Mali to Europe for medical treatment. The soldiers, serving with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), were attacked 180 km north of Gao at 0830 CET, the German Ministry of Defence announced in a press release later that day.

The ministry said the soldiers received immediate medical treatment and were evacuated by a civilian and a UN helicopter to Gao for further treatment.

The 13 wounded were then flown by German Luftwaffe A400M and A310 strategic air medical evacuation (StratAirMedEvac) aircraft on 24-hour readiness to Germany for further treatment. The A400M flew to Gao overnight to evacuate six wounded German soldiers, including three with serious injuries, and the Belgian soldier, arriving at Cologne-Wahn airbase on 26 June. The Germans were transferred to the Bundeswehr's central hospital in Koblenz, while Belgium's Belga news agency reported on 26 June that the less seriously wounded Belgian had been transferred by ambulance to Neder-over-Heembeek hospital in Brussels.

The remaining six wounded Germans were flown from Niamey, Niger, to Stuttgart on board the A310 on 26 June, arriving close to midnight, and were transferred to the Bundeswehr hospital in Ulm.