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Guatemala apologizes for massacre of 226

Guatemala has apologised for the government-directed massacre of 226 people in the highlands village of Plan de Sanchez during the height of the nation`s bloody civil war. Vice-President Eduardo Stein travelled via helicopter to the quiet hamlet 150km north of the capital, Guatemala City, to accept responsibility formally for the killings in front of family members and friends of those killed by soldiers on July 18, 1982. The government was ordered to do so by the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Human Rights Court, which also decreed that the state pay survivors and relatives $US7.9 million ($A10.5 million) in damages in a ruling last year.

Stein, who said he personally insisted the ceremony take place in Plan de Sanchez, called the court ruling historic. Also on-hand was presidential human rights commissioner Frank LaRue.

Stein said the army had "unleashed bloodshed and fire to wipe out an entire community. The people want moments that commemorate their victims. But, more than anything, they don`t want what happened to keep being denied officially."

Soldiers aided by members of civilian patrols stormed into Plan de Sanchez in search of leftist guerrillas who rebelled against the government during the 1960-1996 war. They used machetes and machine guns to kill inhabitants, and also forced large groups of men and women into homes which they set ablaze or pelted with grenades. Additionally, a helicopter bombed the area, considered a stronghold of rebel activity. The war killed 200,000 people before a UN-brokered peace treaty was signed by both sides in December 1996.