The clothes of 53 people who were killed at a 1980s army base in Peru were put on display by Peruvian forensic investigators Tuesday at the National Ombudsman's office located in Lima.

The clothes were unearthed over a period of four years as authorities worked at exhuming the mass grave from 2005 to 2009. However, out of the 53 pairs of clothing, experts have only been able to identify which victims three of the sets belonged to.

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According to the International Red Cross, they will be sending some of the clothes back to the villages of Ayacucho in order to ask relatives of the missing people to identify them.

One of the prosecutors investigating the killings, Jan Borjas, said that the army base in Los Cabitos was the largest detention center in Peru during the Shining Path period where political violence and military abuse was rampant.

The mass grave is directly linked to the Shining Path which was a group composed of Maoist guerilla insurgents in Peru. The group wanted to establish a "New Democracy" through a Cultural Revolution and by posting dictatorship by the proletariats.

The group was known for its brutality especially against the poor, trade union organizers, elected officials, and the civilian population in general. The Shining Path started with just a dozen members but grew to more than 3,000 members over the decade following its 1980 launch.

Borjas noted that none of the abusers or killers has been imprisoned or brought to justice for their crimes.

Furthermore, the Defense Ministry of Peru has refused to provide information about the people assigned in the Los Cabitos base from 1983 to 1996.

In total, prosecutors say 109 cadavers have been disinterred from the mass graves at Los Cabitos. Investigators also noted that they found four ovens where some victims were allegedly burned.

The Shining Path is said to be classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, The European Union, and the Peruvian Government. The group killed over 31, 000 people from 1980 to 2000. 

The leader of the group, Abimael Guzman, who was captured in 1992, is currently serving a life sentence after being charged with terrorism, drug trafficking, and money laundering. 

TagsInsurgency, Shining Path, 53 People Killed, Tortured, Abused, Clothes displayed in an Exhibit, peru, maoist, guerilla, Red Cross, Mass grave, los cabitos