13 Peruvian Soldiers Killed In Rebel Ambush

Peru's Shining Path rebels have killed 13 soldiers in an ambush on a military patrol in the country's remote southeast. Photo AFP.

Peru Military Says 13 Soldiers Dead In Ambushes -- AP

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Suspected guerrillas have killed 13 Peruvian soldiers in ambushes on two patrols in a jungle region known for coca production and lingering rebel activity, the government said Saturday.

Four more were wounded and two are still missing from Thursday's attacks in the Apurimac-Ene River Valley of southeastern Peru, according to the military.

Read more ....

More News On Peru

13 Peruvian soldiers killed in rebel ambush -- AFP
Peruvian rebels kill 13 troops in coca region -- Reuters
Rebels kill 13 soldiers in Peru -- BBC
Peru Guerrillas Kill Soldier in Ambush -- Latin American Herald Tribune

Leader Of Peru's Shining Path Rejects Peace Overtures

Peru Rebel Leader Refuses To Lay Down Arms -- Yahoo News/AP

LIMA, Peru - The leader of Peru's notorious Shining Path leftist rebels rejected an ultimatum to surrender and demanded to negotiate a political accord with the Peruvian government, in an interview aired Thursday by Peruvian broadcaster Radioprogramas.

Filomeno Cerron Cardoso, who goes by the nom de guerre "Comrade Artemio," said the group will never lay down arms or surrender in the face of "widespread military repression" from the government.

"We completely reject the ultimatum" issued by national police chief Octavio Salazar, Artemio said in a radio broadcast originally recorded Wednesday at a local station in the Huallaga Valley where the rebels still operate.

"We still insist that what is needed is a political solution, what is needed is a general amnesty and national reconciliation," Artemio said.

Read more ....

My Comment: There must be something to the idea that you are a revolutionary ....

Peru's Shining Path Guerrillas On The Rise Again

From Yahoo News:

MATUCANA, Peru - Matucana's mayor is a worried man. The Shining Path rebels who terrorized Peru decades ago are back, moving across the jungle-draped slopes near his remote village and recruiting young fighters to their born-again insurgency.

And unlike before, the rebels have almost unlimited financial support. Earning cash by protecting coca fields and cocaine-smuggling routes, they are able to buy powerful weapons and pay salaries to men and women who take up arms against the government.

It is a nightmarish prospect for Peru, which saw nearly 70,000 people killed from 1980 to the mid-'90s in the Shining Path's brutal effort to impose a Maoist communist regime. Most of the victims were peasants, caught in the crossfire between guerrillas and security forces.

Read more ....
My Comment: Plus ca change ... Plus c'est le meme chose. Translated .... the more things change, the more they stay the same.