A.V.
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LIMA, Peru - Peru announced April 22 that it will buy eight new Russian-built helicopters to battle drug traffickers and the remnants of the Shining Path guerrilla group.
The helicopters are destined to support military operations "in the fight against narcoterrorism" in the Apurimac and Ene valley region, Defense Minister Rafael Rey said.
The mountainous coca-growing jungle region, located on the eastern slope of the Andes some 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Lima, is better known by its acronym VRAE.
In August, the government of President Alan Garcia declared the area a war zone because of the presence of Shining Path rebels and drug traffickers.
Rey said that the aircraft - six Mi-17 military transport helicopters and two Mi-35 attack helicopters - will cost $250 million.
The Shining Path, a Maoist insurgent group, was a threat to the Peruvian government in the 1980s but was largely destroyed in the early 1990s.
A handful of its fighters fled to the remote region and have remained active over the years, serving as hired guns for drug lords.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4595675&c=EUR&s=AIR
The helicopters are destined to support military operations "in the fight against narcoterrorism" in the Apurimac and Ene valley region, Defense Minister Rafael Rey said.
The mountainous coca-growing jungle region, located on the eastern slope of the Andes some 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Lima, is better known by its acronym VRAE.
In August, the government of President Alan Garcia declared the area a war zone because of the presence of Shining Path rebels and drug traffickers.
Rey said that the aircraft - six Mi-17 military transport helicopters and two Mi-35 attack helicopters - will cost $250 million.
The Shining Path, a Maoist insurgent group, was a threat to the Peruvian government in the 1980s but was largely destroyed in the early 1990s.
A handful of its fighters fled to the remote region and have remained active over the years, serving as hired guns for drug lords.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4595675&c=EUR&s=AIR
