A coalition of human rights groups have lost their last hope of suing a mining company on behalf of the victims of a massacre in Congo. The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear the appeal filed by the Canadian Association against Impunity, an organization representing survivors and families of victims of the 2004 Kilwa massacre.
As usual, the justices gave no reasons for their ruling. The groups have tried to file a class-action suit in Quebec against Anvil Mining Ltd., over its alleged involvement in the massacre. They allege that Anvil, which opened an office in Quebec in 2005, provided logistical support to the Congolese military as it crushed a rebel uprising in 2004, killing as many as 100 people in the port city of Kilwa.
