An army sergeant was killed and another wounded Feb. 26 in a Sendero Luminoso attack on Bajo Somabeni Counter-Terrorist Base at San Martín de Pangoa, Junín department, in Peru's conflicted Río Apurímac-Ene Valley (VRAE [2]). With the death of Sgt. Ronald Gabriel, the number of soldiers killed in the VRAE, a remaining pocket of Sendero activity, since Aug. 30, 2008 reaches 43. (AP via Univision [3], Reuters via Terra [4], Feb. 26)
Defense Minister Rafael Rey announced earlier this month that South Korea has donated eight used A-37 Dragonfly light warplanes to Peru, to be used to police the VRAE and survey the border region in Peru's northeast Amazon region, in compliance with the 1978 Amazon Cooperation Treaty [5]. (Andean Air Mail & Peruvian Times [6], Feb. 5)
In a move hailed by the government as a step towards bringing peace to the VRAE, Asháninka indigenous leaders met with local officials and campesino representatives at Satipo to sign a "Unity Pact for Governability," affirming mutual commitment to a "pluricultural" future for the zone. The ongoing insurgency has escalated tension between the VRAE's indigenous Asháninka and campesino settlers from the Andes, among whom Sendero has established a base of support. (Servindi [7], Feb. 25)
See our last post on Peru and the struggle for the Amazon [8]
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