Weekly Report - 26 August 2003

Antiterrorist police in Peru are trying to figure out if they are witnessing the first sign of a serious split within a Sendero Luminoso (SL) unit operating in the Ayacucho jungle. On 22 August a man bearing an AKM rifle, ammunition and a grenade turned himself in to the provincial prosecutor at San Francisco. He identified himself as Daniel Matí­as Acevedo, also known by the nom-de-guerre `Silverio', and said he was a member of SL - specifically, of a 60-strong `column' led by `Alipio', reputedly the regional commander and the only one of SL's `historic' leaders still at large. Acevedo told a tale of dissent that had led him to desert, only narrowly escaping pursuit by his former comrades. Dircote, the antiterrorist police, are investigating.