Unearthing clues to France's WWII massacre of African soldiers

Holes in the ground, clods of earth next to headstones, dislocated concrete outlines: the Thiaroye military cemetery near Dakar in Senegal bears the marks of recent excavations meant to unearth the truth behind a WWII-era massacre by French colonial forces.

- 

In November 1944, about 1600 soldiers from several West African countries were sent to the Thiaroye camp after being captured by Germany while fighting for France.

Discontent soon mounted over unpaid back pay and unmet demands that they be treated on a par with white soldiers. On 1 December, French forces opened fire on them.

The circumstances surrounding the massacre, the number of riflemen killed and their place of burial all remain unclear.

An AFP team recently visited the camp's cemetery, where archaeologists are conducting landmark excavations to find and examine the remains of those interred there.

Rows of graves, marked with white headstones and cement demarcations, are covered with shells.