In recent years, attacks against the Peruvian Army have escalated by a new formation of the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso), a Maoist rebel group in Peru. Long believed to have faded away after the capture of its leader Abimael Guzmán (Presidente Gonzalo) and other top leaders from its central committee in 1993, the Shining Path has recently gained force and weapons. According to the Defense Minister of Peru, Flores Araoz, Shining Path rebels killed thirteen soldiers on April 9th in two ambushes in the southeast Ayacucho Region of the country. The attacks are said to have been the deadliest by guerrillas in the past ten years.

New Formations Of The Shining Path Emerged in the Andes jungles | More than 300 families displaced by "counter-terrorist" operation | Chasing Shining Path, Interview with a Member of the Shining Path | Peruvian soldiers die in ambush | Documentary: The People of the Shining Path | Political Line Of CPP (pdf) l PERU: Guerrillas on the Warpath for Peace Talks | Wikipedia: Shining Path

The Peruvian military, under the pretext of fighting the drug trade and the guerrillas, has launched a military offensive against the peasants in areas associated with the Shining Path. In reports by human rights organizations, the Peruvian military is accused of raping and assassinating civilians, and burning food crops.

Reports of abuse by the Peruvian Armed Forces are not new. On April 7th, 2009, Alberto Fujimori, the former President of Peru during the height of the offensive by the Shining Path, was found guilty by a Peruvian court for "crimes against humanity" for his involvement in the killing of dozens of civilians by Peruvian death squads. Fujimori has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and is the first elected Latin American leader convicted in his home country of human rights abuses.

Fujimori guilty of rights abuses | April 7th Mobilization in Lima for the Imprisonment of Fujimori | The Fujimori Verdict: Justice in Latin America | Human Rights Watch: Peru | Amnesty International: Peru

Past Coverage of Fujimori: Mumia: Crimes of State | Ex-Peruvian president jailed after first trial | Fujimori to go on trial for murder | Chilean court extradites ex-Peruvian President Fujimori | Peruvians demand extradition of ex-president Fujimori | Peruvians Skeptical over Justice for Fujimori | Fujimori held by Peru authorities | Fujimori extradited from Chile

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