Battle of Uchiza (1989)

Internal conflict in Peru
Part of the Cold War (1980–1991) and the War on Drugs (1980–present)

Areas of Shining Path activity in Peru
DateMain phase
17 May, 198014 July, 1999
Low-level activity
9 August 2001 – present
Location
Result

First phase: Government victory

Second phase: Ongoing

  • Arrest and trial of Alberto Fujimori.
  • Establishment of Shining Path factions in 2001 (CBMR) and 2004 (CRH).
  • Disestablishment of the CRH in 2012.
  • Establishment of the MPCP in 2018.
  • Death of Abimael Guzmán in prison.
  • Ongoing insurgency in the VRAEM.
Belligerents

 Government of Peru

Supported by:
Supported by:

MPCP
Supported by:

Ethnocacerists
Supported by:

  • FAR-EPT
  • MRTA (1982–1997)
Supported by:
Commanders and leaders
Units involved

People's Guerrilla Army (EGP)


Revolutionary Armed Forces of Peru (FARP)


Tupacamarist People's Army (EPT)
Strength
Main phase:
35,000+ men
Second phase:
around 10,000+ men
Casualties and losses
2,500–3,000 casualties
Total casualties:
50,000–70,000 killed or missing
600,000 displaced

The internal conflict in Peru is an armed conflict between the Government of Peru and the Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path. The conflict's main phase began on 17 May 1980 and ended in December 2000. From 1982 to 1997 the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) waged its own insurgency as a Marxist–Leninist rival to the Shining Path.

As fighting intensified in the 1980s, Peru had one of the worst human rights records in the Western Hemisphere and experienced thousands of forced disappearances while both the Peruvian Armed Forces and Shining Path acted with impunity, sometimes massacring entire villages. 50,000 to 70,000 people were killed, making it the bloodiest war in the country's independent history. This includes many civilians who were deliberately targeted by all factions. The Indigenous peoples were disproportionately targeted, with 75% of those killed speaking Quechua as their native language.

Since 2000, the number of deaths has dropped significantly and recently the conflict has become somewhat dormant. The conflict is also characterized by serious violations of human rights.