Gradually , Shining Path committed more and more violent attacks on the National Police of Peru until the Lima-based government could no longer ignore the growing crisis . In 1981 , President Fernando Belaúnde Terry declared a state of emergency and ordered that the Peruvian Armed Forces fight Shining Path . Constitutional rights were suspended for 60 days in the Huamanga , Huanta , Cangallo , La Mar , and the Víctor Fajardo Provinces . Later , the Armed Forces created the Ayacucho Emergency Zone , where military law superseded civilian law . The military committed many human right violations in the area where it had political control , including the infamous Accomarca massacre . Scores of peasant farmers were massacred by the armed forces . A special US-trained " counter terrorist " police battalion is known as the " Sinchis " became notorious in the 1980s for their violations of human rights
Accomarca massacre
Accomarca massacre
Internal conflict in Peru