Guatemalan officials ordered the arrest of former president, Oscar Mejia, on Thursday, on charges of genocide.
Police, who have raided 4 houses in an attempt to capture 80-year-old Mejia, have deemed him a fugitive.
Mejia is charged with ordering the massacres of Mayan leftist guerilla fighters, during 1982 to 1983, when he served as chief of the military. Mejia's military reign are widely asserted to have corresponded to the war's bloodiest years.
He later led a military coup agaist then dictator Efrain Rios Montt and appointed himself president from 1983 to 1986.
In total, 1960-1996 civil war between government forces and leftist guerrillasl left over 250,000 dead or missing. The majority of the dead were Mayan.
A United Nations-backed truth commission after the war found the army had committed hundreds of massacres.
See earlier coverage on Guatemala's attempts to ensure accountability and justice for victims of genocide:
Guatemala war criminal to be extradited to US (Sept 2011)
Former Guatemala army chief charged with genocide (July 2011)
Genocide charges - thirty years on (June 2011)
