cullinane
2nd December 2001, 15:30
AFP. 1 December 2001. US says Peru's Shining Path may target Americans
in December.
WASHINGTON -- The United States on Saturday said Peru's Shining Path
guerrillas might be planning attacks against US targets this month amid
signs the Maoists are regrouping.
"The US Embassy in Lima and Peruvian authorities have noted evidence of
an increase in activity by members of the Shining Path terrorist
organization," the State Department said in a statement.
"It is possible that Shining Path activity could be directed against US
citizens and interests, especially around anniversary dates significant
to the Shining Path throughout the month of December," it said.
The statement did not specify dates but Monday is the birthday of jailed
Shining Path leader Abimael Guzman, the anniversary of which has been
marked by rebel attacks in the past.
December 26 will be the 108th anniversary of the birth of the Shining
Path's ideological inspiration, Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong.
That date has also been marked by guerrilla attacks.
Both December 3 and December 26 are flagged as "significant dates" in
Peru on a State Department-run website for multi-national businesses
concerned about security abroad.
In the statement, the department said the US embassy in Lima planned to
remain open for business as usual but might "close from time to time to
review their security posture."
"American citizen visitors and residents in Peru should review their
personal security situation and exercise caution," it added.
Since Guzman was arrested and jailed for life in 1992, the Shining Path
has
dwindled in number with security experts saying that the group may have
only 100 to 150 supporters, down from its heyday in the 1980s when it
had some 15,000 followers.
But in August, clashes between the guerrillas and police in the central
Peruvian province of Satipo left at least 16 dead in the country's worst
rebel incident in two years.
That attack, among other smaller incidents, have led to fears the group
is trying to reorganize.
AP. 1 December 2001. Peru: We Uncovered Possible Plot.
LIMA -- Peruvian police arrested two suspected members of a leftist
guerrilla group who they believe were plotting an attack against the
U.S. Embassy, Interior Minister Fernando Rospigliosi said Saturday.
The alleged members of the Shining Path group were arrested in Lima on
Nov. 20 with diagrams of the U.S. Embassy, Rospigliosi said.
"The suspicion is that they were planning to carry out attacks against
the American Embassy and against another site that is linked to U.S.
interests," Rospigliosi told cable news station Channel N.
He did not specify the other site, or provide information about the
identity of the suspects.
The U.S. State Department warned American citizens on Saturday of
"evidence of an increase in activity by members of the Shining Path
terrorist organization."
Authorities suspect that the alleged attacks were planned for Monday,
Dec. 3 -- Guzman's birthday, Rospigliosi said. Shining Path has carried
out terrorist acts on that date in the past, he said.
The U.S. State Department said, "It is possible that Shining Path
activity could be directed against U.S. citizens and interests,
especially around anniversary dates significant to the Shining Path
throughout the month of December."
Rospigliosi said Peruvian police have beefed up security at the U.S.
Embassy, the U.S. ambassador's residence and at "other locales."
Police believe at least 400 Shining Path combatants are still active,
mainly in the Ene and Huallaga River valleys east and northeast of Lima.
in December.
WASHINGTON -- The United States on Saturday said Peru's Shining Path
guerrillas might be planning attacks against US targets this month amid
signs the Maoists are regrouping.
"The US Embassy in Lima and Peruvian authorities have noted evidence of
an increase in activity by members of the Shining Path terrorist
organization," the State Department said in a statement.
"It is possible that Shining Path activity could be directed against US
citizens and interests, especially around anniversary dates significant
to the Shining Path throughout the month of December," it said.
The statement did not specify dates but Monday is the birthday of jailed
Shining Path leader Abimael Guzman, the anniversary of which has been
marked by rebel attacks in the past.
December 26 will be the 108th anniversary of the birth of the Shining
Path's ideological inspiration, Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong.
That date has also been marked by guerrilla attacks.
Both December 3 and December 26 are flagged as "significant dates" in
Peru on a State Department-run website for multi-national businesses
concerned about security abroad.
In the statement, the department said the US embassy in Lima planned to
remain open for business as usual but might "close from time to time to
review their security posture."
"American citizen visitors and residents in Peru should review their
personal security situation and exercise caution," it added.
Since Guzman was arrested and jailed for life in 1992, the Shining Path
has
dwindled in number with security experts saying that the group may have
only 100 to 150 supporters, down from its heyday in the 1980s when it
had some 15,000 followers.
But in August, clashes between the guerrillas and police in the central
Peruvian province of Satipo left at least 16 dead in the country's worst
rebel incident in two years.
That attack, among other smaller incidents, have led to fears the group
is trying to reorganize.
AP. 1 December 2001. Peru: We Uncovered Possible Plot.
LIMA -- Peruvian police arrested two suspected members of a leftist
guerrilla group who they believe were plotting an attack against the
U.S. Embassy, Interior Minister Fernando Rospigliosi said Saturday.
The alleged members of the Shining Path group were arrested in Lima on
Nov. 20 with diagrams of the U.S. Embassy, Rospigliosi said.
"The suspicion is that they were planning to carry out attacks against
the American Embassy and against another site that is linked to U.S.
interests," Rospigliosi told cable news station Channel N.
He did not specify the other site, or provide information about the
identity of the suspects.
The U.S. State Department warned American citizens on Saturday of
"evidence of an increase in activity by members of the Shining Path
terrorist organization."
Authorities suspect that the alleged attacks were planned for Monday,
Dec. 3 -- Guzman's birthday, Rospigliosi said. Shining Path has carried
out terrorist acts on that date in the past, he said.
The U.S. State Department said, "It is possible that Shining Path
activity could be directed against U.S. citizens and interests,
especially around anniversary dates significant to the Shining Path
throughout the month of December."
Rospigliosi said Peruvian police have beefed up security at the U.S.
Embassy, the U.S. ambassador's residence and at "other locales."
Police believe at least 400 Shining Path combatants are still active,
mainly in the Ene and Huallaga River valleys east and northeast of Lima.