Controversy in Senegal: Minister Calls Riflemen “Traitors”

In Senegal, Cheikh Oumar Diagne, the minister responsible for administration in the presidency, sparked a heated controversy by calling colonial riflemen "traitors."

In an interview broadcast on December 21 on Fafa TV, he said that these soldiers had fought against their African "brothers" during revolts and anti-colonial wars.

His statements were widely criticized on social media and in the media, with some calling for his resignation. Historian Mamadou Fall defended the riflemen, highlighting their suffering and heroism, and calling them heroes rather than traitors.

This year, Senegal also commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Thiaroye massacre, where African riflemen were killed by the French army in 1944, an event that new President Bassirou Diomaye Faye plans to teach in schools.

Despite progress in the recognition of this massacre, gray areas persist regarding the number of victims and the circumstances of this tragedy.

The French authorities of the time admitted 35 deaths, while historians put forward figures of up to 400. The graves in the Thiaroye cemetery remain anonymous, testifying to a complex past that needs to be explored.