Atrocities of the Civil War in El Salvador

Archbishop Oscar Romero frequently spoke out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture during the civil war. He called on to the Salvadoran soldiers to not obey orders to kill civilians. On March 24th 1980, Archbishop Romero was assassinated while celebrating mass, just a day after his message to the soldiers. "At his funeral a week later, suspected government-sponsored snipers in the National Palace and on the periphery of the Gerardo Barrios Plaza were responsible for the shooting of 42 mourners" (4)

On May 7, 1980, former army major Roberto D'Aubuisson, a group of soldiers, and civilians were arrested in connection to the assassination of the Archbishop. Their arrests enraged the extreme right which demanded D'Aubuisson be released or they would retaliate with terrorist attacks.

On May 14, 1980, just a week after D'aubuisson's arrest, the national guard, the newly organized paramilitary, in conjunction with the Honduran Military, carried out a brutal massacre in the river of Sumpul as villagers attempted to cross over to Honduras to escape the conflict.

While attempting to escape to Honduras, the Honduran Military stopped the villagers and the Salvadoran Military opened fire in cold blood. "They gathered and killed many refugees, shooting them with machine guns, bludgeoning them with rifle butts, and goring them with machetes and military knives" (4). Many women and children drowned, and helicopters strafed those that hid from the massacre. A total of about 600 villagers were murdered, most of which were women and children.

Over the course of the year 1980, an estimated 11,895 civilians had been murdered by the Salvadoran Army and its military forces. "Human rights organizations judged the Salvadoran government to have among the worst human rights violation records in the hemisphere" (6). The Salvadoran Army deliberately murdered innocent civilians, many of which were peasants, trade unionists, teachers, students, journalists, human rights advocates, priests, and anyone considered an activist in the popular movement.

On March 15, 1981, the Salvadoran Army began a "sweep" operation using scorched earth tactics in the Honduras bordering department of Cabañas located in northern El Salvador. The Salvadoran Army deliberately killed anyone they captured.

As the "sweep" continued, the army assassinated people, burned houses, chased civilians out of their homes, and stole items from the raided homes. At first, only men were targeted as they were suspected to be part of the guerrilla. In an attempt to escape a potential death, the men hid in bushes, sometimes for days or weeks. Those that survived the sweeps fled and hid in caves and under trees to avoid being detected and assassinated.

Three days after the "sweep" began in Cabañas, on March 18, 4,800 survivors of the "sweep", most of which were women and children, were caught in between Honduran and Salvadoran troops as they attempted to flee to Honduras. "The Salvadoran Air Force, subsequently bombed and strafed the fleeing civilians with machine gun fire, killing hundreds. Among the dead were at least 189 persons who were unaccounted for and registered as "disappeared" during the operation" (5). Only about 20 to 30 people were reported as killed and 189 remain declared missing.

Among a string of massacres carried out by the Salvadoran Army, the massacre of El Mozote became the most painful memory for the Salvadoran people, especially for those who survived it.

El Mozote, a remote village located in the Morazan department consisted of 20 houses on open ground around a square. Surrounding the square was a church, a convent, and a small school.

On December 10, 1981, the Atlacatl Battalion of the Salvadoran Army arrived at El Mozote shortly after a clash with the guerrilla. The Atlacatl was a "Rapid Deployment Infantry Battalion", the first of its kind in El Salvador. The platoon was specially trained by counter-insurgency warfare. Its mission "Operation Rescue" was to eliminate the rebels in Morazan where the left-wing guerrilla was believed to have two camps and a training center.

Upon its arrival, the Atlacatl battalion found the residents still in the village, including peasants who had fled from other places. The soldiers ordered everyone to gather in the square and lie face down on the floor, they searched and questioned everyone about the guerrilla. Later, they sent the villagers to lock themselves in their homes and were warned they'd be shot if they came out. The following day, December 11, they separated the men into the church and proceeded to interrogate and torture the men. Soon after, women and young girls were taken, they were raped and then assassinated with a machine gun. "Finally, they killed the children first by slitting their throats, and later by hanging them from trees; one child killed in this manner was reportedly two years old. After killing the entire population, the soldiers set fire to the buildings" (6). After everyone was killed they set the houses and crops on fire and killed the animals. More than 800 civilians were killed, about 75 percent were children.

On May 24, 1982, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reported that a clandestine cemetery containing 150 corpses of disappeared persons was discovered.

June 29, 1982, 27 unarmed civilians are assassinated in San Salvador by the Salvadoran Army. The residents of a neighborhood were dragged from their homes onto the streets to be assassinated, women were raped and then murdered. "The operation was a success," said the Salvadoran Defense Ministry. "This action was a result of training and professionalization of our officers and soldiers." (7). With no regard to human innocent lives, the massacres continued with no end in sight.

July 1984, the Atlacatl Battalion killed 80 unarmed civilians in Cabañas. "One month later, killing 50 displaced people in the Chalatenango province. The women were raped and then everyone was systematically executed" (8). After the massacre in El Mozote, the Atlacatl would continue their siege, assassinating hundreds of civilians including women and children.