"A massacre of African World War II riflemen demanding pay for fighting for France in 1944 was premeditated, covered up and its death toll vastly underestimated, according to a paper submitted to the Senegalese president and seen by the news agency AFP. According to French colonial authorities at the time, at least 35 infantrymen were killed during the massacre at the Thiaroye camp, near the Senegalese capital Dakar."
"But a committee of researchers, led by historian Mamadou Diouf, who authored the 301-page report, put that figure at 300 to 400 deaths. The document, submitted on Thursday to Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, also calls on France to officially request forgiveness, AFP reported. Below are the report's main points: The report restores facts that were deliberately hidden or buried in masses of administrative and military archives and released sparingly."
The Thiaroye massacre in 1944 killed an estimated 300 to 400 African World War II riflemen who had been demanding pay for fighting for France. French colonial authorities originally reported at least 35 deaths, a figure now judged contradictory and patently false. The operation was premeditated, meticulously planned and executed to reinforce colonial order against wartime emancipation. Many victims were covered up and buried in administrative and military archives. Some killings occurred at the Thiaroye camp and likely at the train station. More than 400 riflemen vanished as if they had never existed. The findings call for an official French apology.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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