Regional court dismisses Maasai eviction case against Tanzania government

FILE PHOTO: Wildbeest graze in Serengeti National Park August 18, 2012. REUTERS/Noor Khamis/File Photo

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - A regional court on Friday dismissed a case brought by a group of Maasai villagers claiming the Tanzanian government used violence to evict them from their ancestral lands in the north of the country.

Rights groups said the ruling sent a dangerous message that indigenous peoples can be evicted from their land in the name of conservation.