West African soldiers from Senegal were partners in arms with French soldiers fighting Nazis in World War 2.

When the war ended, West African soldiers returned to their homes near Darkar, Senegal, but they did not receive a parade. 

Instead, they were slaughtered by the same French troops they once shared foxholes with.

Recently French President Emmanuel Macron apologized for the slaughter, which he called a massacre, that occurred in 1944, 80 years ago in Thiaroye, a fishing village on the outskirts of the Senegalese capital of Dakar. 

But not everyone accepts the apology.  

Senegal President Bassirou Dionmaye said Macron’s apology is not enough. What President Diomaye wants to know is how many soldiers from Senegal were massacred.

What sparked the mutiny was that troops from Senegal were not being paid. 

The from troops from Senegal were members of the Tirailleurs Sénégalais. They were veterans of the 1940 Battle of France. During the Second World War, Germany invaded the LowCountries; Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France.

Recently, they had been released from prison camps in Europe. 

After being repatriated to West Africa, they mutinied against poor conditions and unpaid wages at the Thiaroye military camp. Between 35 and 300 people were killed.

French forces opened fire on December 1, killing at least 35 people, French authorities said at the time. 

Historians, however, said the real death toll could be as high as 400. The locations of many of the victims’ graves have yet to be disclosed.

“Defenceless African heroes, armed with courage, dignity, and African solidarity were killed in cold blood. It was a massacre,” one official said.

“The scale of this crime remains minimized and often even denied by some elements of the heirs of those who committed it,” a spokesman added.