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Ex-soldiers sentenced for 1985 massacre of villagers in Peru

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A dog, wearing a camouflage motif pet shirt, stands in front of a cordon of policeman lined up outside a court where military officers and soldiers are on trial for the massacre of 71 people killed in 1985 in the Andean city of Accomarca, in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. On Thursday, the court sentenced 10 members of the Peruvian Army to various prison terms for the killing of the 71, one of the cruelest by soldiers on the rural population of Peru during the country’s war that took place between 1980-2000. Counted among the dead were more than two dozen children. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

LIMA, Peru – A court in Peru has found a retired general and nine other former soldiers guilty of killing 71 peasant farmers in a counterinsurgency operation three decades ago.

The Accomarca massacre in 1985 is one of the bloodiest episodes in two decades of internal conflict. Two dozen children were among those killed when army units took control of the village looking for Shining Path rebels.

Prosecutors were aided by the testimony of former Army Maj. Telmo Hurtado, who described how he personally killed 31 villagers on the orders of his superiors. He was sentenced early Thursday to 23 years in jail. His superiors received similar punishments.

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