Cenepa War
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The Cenepa War (named after a river located in the area) took place in 1995, between Peru and Ecuador.
Ecuador and Peru have a long stading territorial dispute over the Upper Cenepa region. The Ecuador-Peru border has been in dispute since Ecuador’s secession from Great Colombia in 1830. The 1941 Ecuadorian-Peruvian War was ended with the signing of the Rio Protocol on January 29, 1942. The Rio Protocol required Ecuador to gave up its claims over Peruvian-recognised territory. Ecuadorean foreign policy for the last 30 years has actively pursued the nullification of the Rio Protocol.
It is unclear how the War started. It is common belief that two patrols from the different nations encountered each other and a skirmish ensued, the fight then escalated beyond the routine Template:Ref. Ecuador had the advantages of high ground and air superiority. In the short battle 9 Peruvian aircraft were destroyed and 2 Ecuadorian aircraft. Ecuador deployed 3000 troops to the area to only 2000 Peruvian. Casuality figures widely range between 200-1500.
On February 17, the United Nations brokered a ceasefire. All combatants were withdrawn from the disputed area by May 5, 1995. A demilitarized zone came into effect on August 4.
References
- Template:Note Marcella, G. 1995. War and Peace in the Amazon: Strategic Implications for the United States and Latin America of the 1995 Ecuador-Peru War (http://131.84.1.34/doctrine/jel/research_pubs/amazon.pdf). Department of National Security and Strategy
- Simmons, B. A. 1999. Territorial Disputes and Their Resolution, The Case of Ecuador and Peru. (http://www.usip.org/pubs/peaceworks/pwks27.pdf). United State Institute of Peace
External links
- Peru-Ecuador Wars (http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_164.shtml)