Initial government efforts to fight the Shining Path were not very effective or promising . Military units engaged in many human rights violations , which caused the Shining Path to appear in the eyes of many as the lesser of two evils . They used excessive force and killed many innocent civilians . Government forces destroyed villages and killed '' campesinos '' suspected of supporting the Shining Path . They eventually lessened the pace at which the armed forces committed atrocities such as massacres . Additionally , the state began the widespread use of intelligence agencies in its fight against the Shining Path . However , atrocities were committed by the National Intelligence Service and the Army Intelligence Service , notably the La Cantuta massacre and the Barrios Altos massacre , both of which were committed by Grupo Colina
La Cantuta massacre
La Cantuta massacre
Shining Path