France to provide 1944 massacre documents

• Tweet

DAKAR, Senegal, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The French government will give Senegal documents on the killing of 35 soldiers in 1944, President Francois Hollande said Saturday.

Hollande, on a visit to the former French colony, told the Senegalese Parliament the documents will be held at the memorial at Camp Thiaroye, Radio France Internationale reported.

The soldiers were tirailleurs, Africans from the colonies that are now Senegal, Burkina Faso and Mali. About 1,300, who had been freed after being held prisoner by the Germans, mutinied in late 1944, demanding promised bonuses.

At least 24 were killed on Dec. 1, although the number is in dispute.

"The dark side of our history includes the bloody repression at the Thairoye camp in 1944, which caused the death of 35 African soldiers who fought for France," Hollande said.