The mass slaying of West African soldiers by colonial forces at the end of World War II in Senegal remains shrouded in secrecy. But Senegal’s new government won’t abide the mystery.

France has for the first time acknowledged that its soldiers carried out a "massacre" in Senegal in which dozens – perhaps hundreds – of West African troops were killed almost exactly 80 years ago, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has said.

Senegal on Sunday commemorated 80 years since the killing of dozens of African troops by French forces that the former colonial master acknowledged this week had been a "massacre".

Senegal on Sunday (December 1) commemorated the 80th anniversary of a massacre of African soldiers who fought for France during World War Two, and were gunned down by French troops in 1944 for demanding fair treatment and payment on their return.

On Senegal marks the 80th anniversary of the Thiaroye massacre. French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday (November 28) for the first time recognized the killing of West African soldiers by the French Army in 1944 as a massacre in a letter addressed to the Senegalese authorities.