A retired colonel in the Guatemalan army has been sentenced to 53 years in prison for crimes committed during the country's civil war.

Col Marco Antonio Sanchez's conviction is the first against an army officer since the war ended.

It spanned 36 years and led to the deaths of at least 200,000 people.

Col Sanchez was found guilty of being responsible for the forced disappearance of eight farm workers in what is being seen as a test case.