Six African riflemen, killed in Senegal in 1944, recognized as “died for France” by the French authorities

The six riflemen were executed with dozens of others on the orders of French army officers in 1944, in Thiaroye in Senegal.

This is an unprecedented memorial decision in a painful issue between France and its former colonies. Six African riflemen, executed with dozens of others on the orders of French army officers in 1944 in Thiaroye, Senegal, have just been recognized “died for France” posthumously.

“This gesture is part of the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of France as well as in the perspective of the 80th anniversary of the events of Thiaroye, in line with the memorial of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, who wants us to look our history ‘in the face'”announced on Sunday July 28 the Secretary of State for Veterans and Remembrance.

The mention of “Died for France” was awarded after a decision dated June 18 to these six riflemen, by the French National Office of Combatants and War Victims. It concerns “four riflemen from Senegal, one from Ivory Coast and one from Upper Volta”, country that became Burkina Faso. This first decision “may be completed once the exact identity of other victims has been established”the State Secretariat said.

On the morning of December 1, 1944, at the military camp of Thiaroye, a town located not far from the Senegalese capital, Dakar, colonial troops and French gendarmes had opened fire on the orders of French army officers on repatriated riflemen who were demanding their back pay.

According to the assessment made by the French authorities at the time, at least 35 riflemen died, on the spot or from their injuries. Historians estimate this figure to be much higher. The place of burial of the soldiers killed, in individual graves or mass graves, in Thiaroye or elsewhere, is also a matter of debate. The trauma and memory of this massacre are still vivid in Senegal and on the African continent.