It was one of the most shocking events of the Liberian civil war. In April 1900 troops with then-President Samuel Doe’s Special Anti-Terrorist Unit shot and hacked to death 600 people including babies taking refuge in Monrovia’s St Peters Lutheran Church. Images of the carnage were broadcast around the world. The massacre kicked off a series of revenge killings that fueled the next 6 years of fighting.

Until last week, no one had been held accountable for the slaughter. But in a groundbreaking ruling a federal court in the US state of Pennsylvania has found Moses Thomas—the commander who ordered the killings – responsible for the massacre.

Thomas returned to Liberia from the US last year and in a call with reporter Anthony Roberts of Power TV/FM, he dismissed the ruling. The victims and justice activists are now calling on the Liberian government to prosecute.