FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron recognised on Thursday for the first time the killing of west African soldiers by the French army in 1944 as a massacre.
The long-awaited admission from France came in a letter addressed to the Senegalese authorities and on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the World War II killings in Thiaroye — a fishing village on the outskirts of the Senegalese capital Dakar.
It also comes as France’s influence is declining across Africa, with Paris being ousted from its former colonies.
NICHOLAS MWANGI highlights a historic turning point in Sahelian sovereignty, as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger bolstered their regional security through a unified military force
As the Alliance of Sahel States and southern African nations advance pan-African goals, the African Union must listen and learn rather than parroting the Western line on these positive developments, writes ROGER McKENZIE
ROGER McKENZIE reports on the west African country, under its new anti-imperialist government, taking up the case for compensation for colonial-era massacres


