Bodies in 'mass grave' at Dakar cemetery challenge French version of 1944 colonial massacre

Archaeological excavation unearthed more seven bodies at mass graves at Thiaroye Military Cemetery in Dakar, offering new insight into a colonial-era massacre.

Footage filmed on Thursday shows the excavation site at the small cemetery. The researchers excavated seven of an estimated 200 unmarked graves.

After analysing the remains, a team of archaeologists reported that they could belong to soldiers shot by French forces.

"Among the soldiers in this mass grave were officers," stated Professor Moustapha Sall. "In this row, we found soldiers who were fully clothed when they died, including their war tunics, and the one in the middle had his feet bound."

The findings go against the account given by French authorities at the time, while Professor Sall's team also alleged its work was hindered by restricted access to French archives.

"We sent colleagues all over France to access the archives. Unfortunately, they had difficulty obtaining the desired results. They had trouble accessing some archives, some archives simply didn't exist, and others were hidden," the archaeologist shared.

Director of Archives and Historical Heritage of Armed Forces, Colonel Saliou Ngom, suggested that further investigation of the cemetery would find more forgotten victims of the massacre.

"When we talk about the number of victims, there's one constant: a soldier can't go to war without a list. We demand this list from France," he asserted.

"I think France has finally realised it committed a blunder, a massacre, a grave error. Because, as a soldier, this massacre is unacceptable. These riflemen were their brothers in arms," Ngom added

In December 1944, West African soldiers, including those from Mali, Senegal and Burkina Faso, revolted over the delayed payments and treatment at the Thiaroye camp.

French soldiers opened fire on December 1, 1944 after discontent mounted at the Thiaroye military camp over unpaid wages and calls for pay equality. While the French military has said between 35 and 75 soldiers were killed, some historians claim up to 400 soldiers died.

Macron officially recognised the events of Thiaroye as a massacre for the first time in a letter to the Senegalese president last December. In his letter, Macron did not mention the number of soldiers killed. Senegal called on France to close all military bases in the country, emphasising the importance of national sovereignty.

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