COMBINED REPORTS


LIMA, Peru -- The Peruvian army said Monday it had dislodged Ecuadorean troops from a disputed border post inside its territory, in the latest fighting over a vast area on the two countries' frontier that erupted five days ago.


Peruvian and Ecuadorean troops have been clashing over the 330 square-kilometer area along the Cordillera del Condor in the north since Thursday. The area's border has not yet been marked under a treaty, signed in 1942 , that settled the two nations' historical claim to a vast region in the Amazon jungle.


The disputed region is a dense jungle area with gold, uranium and possible oil reserves, as well as a river that could provide Ecuador's sole navigable access to the Amazon River.


It was unclear what set off the latest clashes, but tensions between the neighboring Andean states arise every year before the Jan. 29 anniversary of the treaty under which Ecuador renounced its claim to the region. Ecuador's Congress rejected the treaty in 1960.


"The Peruvian army (Sunday) successfully recovered the zone of Cueva de los Tayos by ousting the invading troops, leaving an official toll of one official and one soldier wounded," a statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. "While an M-1 helicopter of the Peruvian army was on a mission to supply our troops in our territory, it was attacked by an Ecuadorean missile. As a result ... five of its crew died," the statement added.


It was the first official statement from the Peruvian military on the operations, described by Ecuador as a "massive offensive" by Peru's armed forces, which began Sunday.


Ecuadorean military commanders said Peruvian forces attacked four bases with planes, helicopters and mortars Sunday morning. They said their forces shot down two Peruvian helicopters, and that seven Peruvian soldiers were killed and two taken prisoner. They said one Ecuadorean was killed and another wounded.


In Quito, the capital, Ecuadorean President Sixto Duran-Ballen said Sunday that Ecuador would not retreat, and insisted that the bases attacked "are on Ecuadorean soil."


On Saturday, Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori said his country "firmly maintains its position to defend the boundary," and insisted the fighting was taking place within Peruvian territory.


But he added, "We are making efforts -- both governments, I understand -- to keep this from escalating."In Quito on Sunday morning former Ecuadorean soldiers arrived at a military air base by the dozen to answer a call for mobilization.


"I heard the president on the radio," said Angel Franco, 20, standing in a ragtag line at the base. "I said to myself, 'My country needs me.' So here I am."


Ecuador's civil defense agency imposed a 9 P.M. blackout on towns near the combat zone Sunday and instructed residents to carry flashlights and blankets and not to build fires.


In Mendez, a town about 80 kilometers from the fighting, Ecuadorean flags hung off balconies, and the dark streets were largely deserted.


Indigenous Indians who knew the jungle terrain well said they were tipping off Ecuadorean soldiers to Peruvian troop movements


"We are the eyes and ears of the army," said Mario Nantipia, a leader of the Achnar y Achnar tribe, as he entered an army base.


At Shell-Mera, a supply area 200 kilometers from the border, army soldiers loaded a soldier's wooden casket, draped in Ecuador's yellow, blue and red flag, onto a military plane. Soldiers stood at attention while a mournful tune was played on a bugle. "I hope Fujimori believes there should be no more deaths," said air force Sergeant Luis Sanchez, watching the coffin start its journey. "It's not worth it."


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