The Bel-Air cemetery in Dakar

The Senegal contains the military graves of 3360 men who died during the French colonial venture in Africa.

These graves are spread between Dakar (2249 graves), Fatik (3), Koalack (93), Saint-Louis (721), Tambacounda (111), Thiès (178) and Zinguinchor (5). The Bel-Air mixed cemetery (military and civilian) in Dakar contains the graves of 1707 French metropolitan soldiers and Senegalese tirailleurs who died between 1927 and1963. At the end of the First World war, a statue, depicting a French infantryman (a "Poilu") and a Tirailleur side by side, was erected "to Demba and Dupont - in memory of their brotherhood in arms". Initially located in one of the town squares, it was moved following independence to the military plot in the Bel-Air cemetery. On the 23rd August 2004, the sculpture, relocated to a public square known as "Place des tirailleurs Senegalais" (Square of the Senegalese Tirailleurs), was inaugurated on the occasion of the "Journée des tirailleurs Senegalais" (Senegalese Tirailleurs' Day). The management of the cemetery is paid for through funds allocated by the Department of Defence to the consular services of the French Embassy. The French forces in Senegal (23rd battalion of marine infantry) take part in the maintenance of the grounds, thanks to funds allocated by the Department of Defence and the French Souvenir association.
French Embassy in Senegal 1, rue El Hadji Amadou Assane Ndoye Dakar Tel.: +221 839 51 00 Fax: +221 839 51 81 E-mail: webmestre.dakar-amba@diplomatie.gouv.fr E-mail: [email=Dakar.fslt@diplomatie