A judge in Spain has announced an investigation into alleged genocide in Guatemala during the country's civil war.

The High Court in Madrid agreed to look into accusations lodged by the Guatemalan human rights activist and Nobel peace prize winner, Rigoberto Menchu.

Mrs Menchu filed her lawsuit in Madrid last December, accusing several Guatemalan generals, including three former military leaders, of massacring Mayan Indians during the civil war.

Among the victims were Mrs Menchu's father, who was killed in a military assault on the Spanish embassy in 1980.

She said she had been encouraged by the actions of the Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzon, who attempted to put General Augusto Pinochet of Chile on trial for torture. A lawyer for Mrs Menchu, Maria Estela Lopez, told the BBC the case was intended to prevent such atrocities from happening again.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service