Liberia: U.S. Court Finds Ex-AFL Commander Guilty for Lutheran Church Massacre

20 September 2021

Moses Thomas, a former general with the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) is guilty of the killing of an estimated 600 civilians in the St. Peter's Lutheran Church Massacre more than three decades ago, a court in Philadelphia, United States of America has ruled.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found Thomas--who headed the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SATU)--ordered and directed the killing of people predominantly of the Gio and Mano tribes on July 29, 1990. It said he is liable for war crimes, crimes against humanity under the US Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) and the Alien Tort Act (ATC). The massacres are the single worst atrocity in the Liberian Civil War and sparked out a string of retaliatory murders across 14 years (1989 -2003).

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