Forensic teams have exhumed 60 bodies from what is thought to be the largest mass grave from the Peruvian government’s bloody war against Maoist insurgents. Several children were among about 140 peasants massacred by the military in the Andes Mountains of southern Peru in 1984. Fifteen of 60 bodies recovered so far were those of children.
Excavators are comparing DNA extracted from the remains with living relatives who believe they lost loved ones in the incident. The burial site in Putis is believed to be the largest mass grave related to the Peruvian military’s fight against the Shining Path, a Maoist insurgency that fought in the 1980s and ’90s to replace Peru’s government with a revolutionary peasant regime. The insurgency killed thousands and spawned a brutal government crackdown that came with numerous human rights abuses.
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