WORLD : Peru Rebels Kills 19 Villagers
Shining Path guerrillas shot and killed 19 peasants, nearly all of them women and children, in a small Andean hamlet where they had fled to escape rebel attacks in their own village, police said today.
The massacre occurred late Tuesday in Pishupiaco, 60 miles southeast of Huancayo, a major trading center in the Andes 120 miles east of Lima.
The police report said the leftist rebels armed with automatic weapons called together townspeople in the village square, where they carefully checked each person’s identity and told 19 people to stand apart from the rest. They then opened fire, killing those they had selected.
The victims included 11 children between the ages of 2 and 10, 7 women and a 26-year-old man, police said.
Survivors said the victims were among 180 refugees who came to Pishupiaco from Ayacucho to escape guerrilla violence and government repression.
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