Massacre des tirailleurs de Thiaroye 1944 : Un document disparu empêche de connaître la vérité
More than eight decades after the massacre of Senegalese riflemen in Thiaroye in 1944, the light on this tragedy is still being shed. The committee of historians established by the new Senegalese authorities has just published a white paper that reveals a major obstacle: the manifest of the boat that brought the riflemen back to Dakar remains untraceable.
This central piece would have made it possible to precisely establish the number of men who landed and determine the exact death toll. Without it, researchers must make do with estimates, hampering the search for the truth about the events of December 1, 1944.
The report also mentions "disjunctions" noted during the first archaeological excavations carried out at the Thiaroye cemetery, where the dead soldiers are said to be buried.
Heading the committee, Professor Mamadou Diouf, a historian at Columbia University (USA), explains that his team has discovered new information about the riflemen: their often forced recruitment, their participation in the Second World War and the difficult conditions of their return home.
Long described as a "mutiny" by France, the event is now recognized as a massacre. For Mamadou Diouf, this historical reinterpretation marks a crucial step in recognizing the memory of the riflemen and restoring their dignity.
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