El Salvador’s Supreme Court has ordered an unprecedented probe of a 1981 massacre of civilians by U.S.-backed troops. Around 45 people, including women and children, were killed by the Salvadoran military in the town of San Francisco Angulo. The investigation comes days after a former rebel leader just missed an all-out victory in the first round of presidential elections, setting up a runoff for next month. The El Salvador Supreme Court is also reviewing a challenge to a 1993 law granting amnesty for atrocities by El Salvador’s right-wing governments.