During half a decade of civil war, no part of El Salvador has been more fiercely contested than rugged and isolated northern Morazán province. The area is now a stronghold for antigovernment rebels, but they won it at a high cost. Years of fighting have devastated once thriving villages. Electrical lines hang limply from wooden poles, and telephone service is just a memory. Correspondent Ricardo Chavira returned last week from a rare tour of the area with officials of the People's Revolutionary Army (E.R.P.), the most powerful faction within the five-member Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (F.M.L.N.). Chavira's report:
Crossing to...