Thiaroye: The massacre committed by the French army on December 1, 1944, in Thiaroye, Senegal, against African riflemen demanding payment of their wages, was meticulously prepared, underestimated, and covered up, according to a White Paper submitted by a committee of researchers to President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. The 301-page document, the result of the work of a committee led by Senegalese historian Mamadou Diouf, challenges France's official version of the tragedy. It estimates that the number of victims, long estimated at between 35 and 70, was actually 300 to 400 African riflemen killed.
According to Burkina Information Agency, these veterans, who came from several West African countries, including Senegal, Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), had served in the French army during World War II. Upon their return, they simply demanded payment of their back pay before returning to their countries of origin. To silence their demands, the French army carried out carnage among the ranks of these unarmed soldiers.
The White Paper indicates that the massacre was intended to demonstrate that the colonial order could not be undermined by the emancipatory effects of the World War on the colonized. The operation was meticulously planned and executed in coordinated actions. The report also reveals systematic attempts at cover-up: falsification of troop departure and arrival records, modification of the number of soldiers present at Thiaroye, and partial destruction of archives.
Researchers have faced significant obstacles in accessing French archives, with several requests encountering what they describe as "a wall of darkness." The document notes that several African riflemen were killed outside the camp, notably at Thiaroye station, before being transported and then buried in the barracks.
In 2024, on the eve of the 80th anniversary of this tragedy, Emmanuel Macron sent a letter to President Faye, in which he acknowledged the Thiaroye massacre, without, however, offering an apology or mentioning reparations. The committee of researchers calls on France to officially acknowledge its responsibility in this massacre and to "express its request for forgiveness to the families, communities, and peoples" of the riflemen's countries of origin. It also recommends that the case be referred to the European Court of Human Rights to have the Thiaroye massacre recognized as a "massive violation of human rights".
The Thiaroye tragedy left indelible scars in Senegal and in the other countries of origin of these soldiers. 'Thiaroye is not a page turned, but a path that continues, that of a Nation that questions its past to illuminate its future, affirm its dignity and honor its heroes. "The quest for truth continues, stone by stone, until the light is fully revealed. Because memory only has meaning if it liberates, elevates, and unites," President Bassirou Diomaye Faye wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday.
Visiting Thiaroye on October 7, 2025, Burkinabe Prime Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo stated that the massacre of African riflemen "remains an open wound in the conscience of humanity, an eternal reminder of the ingratitude of nations who, yesterday, invoked their courage, but today pretend to teach gratitude to their descendants."