Senegal: Captain Mbaye Diagne remembered
The 1994 inter-ethnic conflict in Rwanda will always be remembered for the number of human casualties.
But one man whose heroism, fearlessness and dedication to humanity during the massacre is the late Captain Mbaye Diagne, a Senegalese soldier who had served as a UN peacekeeper in Rwanda.
His mandate as a military observer was just to observe the horrific events and do nothing about them. But he defied orders, mostly taking personal risks to smuggle hundreds of Rwandan civilians from danger zones to an UN-protected hotel and other safe sites.
He was recently given a posthumous heroism award by US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton. He was killed on the fateful day of May 31st, 1994.
Despite his achievements and sacrifices for humanity, Captain Diagne and his heroism are not well known in Senegal.
On Tuesday, his family, former colleagues and friends gathered in Dakar to pay tribute to him.
Colonel Babacar Faye was one of Captain Diagne’s closed friends and they both served in Rwanda at the same time.
Colonel Faye in the interview below speaks about the career and legacy of Captain Diagne to WADR Kara Thioune.
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