Skeletons containing bullets have been unearthed in the first excavation of a cemetery near Dakar, Senegal, at a former military camp.
This site is where French soldiers massacred African troops who fought in WWII, a source told AFP Wednesday.
The excavations, ongoing since early May at the Thiaroye military camp, aim to illuminate the 1944 incident where African soldiers protesting pay delays were killed.
This event marks one of the worst massacres during French colonial rule, with persistent questions regarding the death toll, identities, and burial locations.
While French authorities claimed 35 deaths, historians suggest up to 400.
Ballistics and DNA analysis will aid in identifying individuals and weapons used.
Researchers have long called for excavations, which the Senegalese government, accusing France of withholding documents, announced in February to “uncover the whole truth.”
France acknowledged the massacre last November.
