The remains of ex-colonel Ronny Piens, the Belgian expat killed in the Malian capital Bamako last week, was brought back to Belgium on a civilian flight on Wednesday. This information was confirmed by reliable sources. The body’s return was organised by the European Service of Exterior Action (Seae), which the former parachutist officer had worked for over the last few months as head of security for Bamako. He worked in conjunction with the Belgian embassy at Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.
Ronny Piens was killed in the early hours of Saturday morning during the attack at “La Terrasse”, a bar-restaurant in Bamako frequented by expats. Five people were killed and another eight injured in the attack, two of whom were Swiss military. The jihadist group Al-Mourabitoune, led by the Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar, has claimed responsibility.
The body of Fabain Guyomard, the French victim of Saturday’s attack in Bamako, arrived at the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on Tuesday morning, where a ceremony was held in the presence of his family.
(Source: Belga)
