ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 23, 1997 TAG: 9704230067
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LIMA, PERU
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
The assault, reportedly staged as the captors played soccer, killed all 14 leftist Tupac Amaru rebels.
Peruvian forces stormed the Japanese ambassador's mansion amid explosions and gunfire Tuesday, rescuing 71 hostages held for four months and killing all 14 rebel captors as the unsuspecting guerrillas reportedly played soccer.
One captive, Supreme Court Justice Carlos Giusti, and two soldiers also died, President Alberto Fujimori said. Some hostages were secretly warned just before the raid, one of the freed men said.
Fujimori said 25 other captives were injured in the gunfire and explosions that rocked the compound, only two seriously - Peru's foreign minister, Francisco Tudela, and another Supreme Court justice, both suffering gunshot wounds.
``I didn't waver for a single minute in giving the order for this rescue operation,'' said the president, who throughout the crisis adamantly rejected the guerrillas' demand that jailed comrades be freed in exchange for the captive diplomats and businessmen.
The operation ended an international ordeal that had transfixed two nations and focused global attention on a little-known leftist rebel group, Tupac Amaru, which has waged guerrilla war here since 1984.
In Tokyo, Japan's prime minister called it a ``splendid rescue,'' but also said it was ``regrettable'' that Peru had not forewarned his government of the surprise, broad-daylight attack.
Fujimori told reporters late Tuesday that intelligence information convinced him it was an ideal time to end the impasse by force.
He apparently was referring to word of the indoor soccer game. Bolivian Ambassador Jorge Gumucio, one of the freed hostages, said eight hostage-holders were playing soccer in the main hall of the diplomatic residence when the security forces struck, first setting off an explosion in a tunnel directly under the hall.
It was about 3:30 p.m. The 140-man military-police assault team poured through the compound's front gate, then blasted open the mansion's front door. Others attacked from the rear, and a third unit climbed to the rooftop and shepherded hostages down.
It ended quickly. As smoke billowed over the residence, triumphant soldiers hauled down the guerrillas' flag, and ex-hostages and rescuers cheered and jubilantly sang the Peruvian national anthem. A large pool of blood could be seen at the bottom of a stairway.
Fujimori said all 14 rebels were killed. They included the group's leader, Nestor Cerpa, and at least two teen-age girls. Gumucio said Cerpa was one of those playing soccer.
Gumucio also said authorities managed to warn some of the captives 10 minutes before the raid. He declined to say how.
The relatively low casualty toll among hostages was surprising to some. An armed forces assessment early in the 126-day siege estimated such an assault would cost the lives of 70 percent of those in the compound.
The hostages, all male, were mostly Peruvians, but also included 24 Japanese - 12 businessmen and 12 diplomats, including Japan's ambassador, Morihisa Aoki, who suffered a slight elbow injury during the rescue.
Less than an hour after the raid, Fujimori strapped on a bulletproof vest and victoriously entered the compound. He shook ex-hostages' hands and joined with them and soldiers in singing the national anthem.
Smiling and carrying a large red-and-white Peruvian flag, Fujimori traveled with two busloads of hostages, apparently unharmed, to a military hospital. Other hostages were rushed off in ambulances.
Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said Peru had not told him in advance of the raid, even though the compound is technically on Japanese soil. Japan had repeatedly asked the Peruvians to avoid any actions that might endanger the hostages.
``Our country was not informed in advance, and this is very regrettable,'' Hashimoto said. But he expressed support for Peru's leader, saying, ``There should be nobody who could criticize Mr. Fujimori for his decision.''
Fujimori had said he would use force to end the crisis only as a last resort, but Peruvian news media repeatedly reported military plans to raid the compound.
The heavily armed guerrillas stormed the residence Dec.17 during a cocktail party marking the Japanese emperor's birthday and took almost 500 hostages. They quickly released most of them.
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS. Peruvian soldiers help hostages escapeby CNBfrom the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima on Tuesday. color. KEYWORDS: FATALITY