1 Talks to resolve a border dispute between Peru and Ecuador resumed Sunday amid reports that troops from the two sides had clashed again.
2 The skirmishes occurred Saturday in the jungled mountains along the border 220 miles (350 kms) southeast of Quito, Ecuadorean officials said.
3 They described the clashes as of 'lower intensity' than previous fighting and said they had no information on casualties.
4 Peruvian officials had no comment on the reports. Peru sent soldiers experienced in fighting Maoist guerrillas to the disputed region last week.
5 The attacks came a day after negotiators from Peru and Ecuador, meeting in Brazil, announced they had reached agreement in principle to end the 10-day border conflict and set up a demilitarized zone. The agreement was contingent on the presidents of both nations giving final approval to the details.
6 Ecuador had agreed to a simultaneous withdrawal of troops but Peru wants the Ecuadoreans to withdraw first, said Ecuadorean spokesman Santiago Aguilar.
7 In Rio de Janeiro, peace talks resumed Sunday morning after 10 negotiators from the United States, Chile, Argentina and Brazil broke for the night.
8 On Saturday, Ecuador's main representative to the talks, Marcelo Fernandez de Cordova, said his nation was 'deeply concerned with the delay in reaching a definitive suspension of hostilities.'
9 But Peru's chief delegate, Eduardo Ponce, responded that the Ecuadoreans were 'trying to gain international sympathy by presenting themselves as victims.'
10 Antonio Barros Simoes, a Brazilian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Saturday evening in Rio that negotiators sent new proposals to the presidents of Peru and Ecuador earlier in the day.
11 'We have received requests from both governments, particularly from one, for more time to consider the latest proposals,' Barros said, without elaborating.
12 At least 20 people have been killed in fighting that erupted Jan. 26 over an unmarked 50-mile (80-km) portion of the border. The conflict over the area, which may contain gold, uranium and oil, stems from a 1941 war that Ecuador lost.
13 Each side claims the other started the latest flareup.
14 Ecuador says eight of its soldiers have died in the fighting and two are missing and believed dead. Peru acknowledges it has lost 11 soldiers but claims to have killed about 43 Ecuadorean soldiers. One Peruvian civilian was killed after stepping on a land mine. Both sides have mined the border area.
15 Reporters who have visited the area say the Ecuadorean troops are dug into the mountaintops and have honeycombed the terrain with tunnels.
16 Peru contends the entire 1,000-mile (1,60-kilometer) border was established in a 1942 agreement. Ecuador declared the agreement null in 1960, before the border was fully marked.
17 The agreement was guaranteed by the United States, Argentina, Chile and Brazil.
18 Skirmishes also occurred in the area in 1981.

Peruvian officials had no comment on the reports . Peru sent soldiers experienced in fighting Maoist guerrillas to the disputed region last week .
Maoist guerrillas
Who are Maoist guerrillas?  What are they fighting for?