Members of the insurgent group Sendero Luminoso launched an attack on an army post yesterday in the Valley of the Apurimac and Ene rivers (VRAE) region of central Peru that left at least one police officer wounded. Earlier this week, in the first deadly attack of 2010, rebels also ambushed and killed a police officer and two civilians who were destroying coca plantations in the area.
Insurgent-related violence in the VRAE region has claimed the lives of 43 soldiers since 2003 and has continued to pose challenges for the Peruvian government. A single attack last year in the region killed 13 soldiers and provoked a scaling-up of military operations in the region.
The Peruvian government has mobilized an intense manhunt for those responsible for the attacks. During a visit to the site of the violence, Minister of the Interior Octavio Salazar pledged to capture the rebels.
