1 Peru late Monday announced it had captured the last Ecuadorean stronghold in Peruvian territory and declared a unilateral cease-fire in the Andean border war.
2 The cease-fire will go into effect at noon (1700 GMT) Tuesday, President Alberto Fujimori said in an address to the nation.
3 There was no immediate reaction from the Ecuadorean government. But a television station in the Ecuadorean capital of Quito reported that officials were surprised and skeptical about the announcement.
4 'All Peru should know that at this moment . Ecuadorean troops have been expelled from our territory,' Fujimori said.
5 He said he hoped Ecuador would react 'positively in the face of this demonstration of good faith and prudence.'
6 The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Peru would invite a commission of observers to verify the cease-fire in a disputed 77-kilometer (48-mile) border zone in the Amazon jungle, 950 kilometers (590 miles) north of Lima and 350 kilometers (220 miles) south of Quito.
7 It said Peru was confident that Chile, Brazil, Argentina and the United States could find a permanent solution to the conflict, which broke out Jan. 26.
8 The four nations are guarantors of a 1942 treaty that ended a war in which Ecuador lost about half its Amazon territory to Peru. Ecuador later renounced the treaty.
9 Fujimori said he had informed the governments of the four nations of his cease-fire decision.
10 Fujimori said Peruvian troops had captured the Ecuadorean base of Tiwintza at the headwaters of the Cenepa River.
11 He said the base was the last of three Ecuadorean outposts in the disputed region of the Cordillera del Condor mountains. Tiwintza, he said, had become a 'a symbol of national sovereignty.'
12 The president said 38 Peruvian soldiers had died since the fighting began. Earlier reports said 60 had been wounded. Ecuador upped its casualty figures Monday to 10 soldiers killed and 37 wounded.
13 Independent reports have put casualties much higher.
14 In Quito, Channel 8 television reported that the government viewed Peru's cease-fire announcement with 'skepticism.' A TV newsman quoting unidentified government sources said that Tiwintza was still in Ecuadorean hands.
15 He said that Ecuadorean President Sixto Duran-Ballen was meeting with his Security Council, comprised of the country's highest military command.
16 Earlier Monday, Duran-Ballen had said a cease-fire in the border war could be just a 'question of hours.'
17 Duran-Ballen said a new cease-fire proposal had been presented by the four mediating countries.
18 'This proposal very well could achieve the signing of a cease-fire in the next few hours,' he said.
19 Peace talks resumed in Brasilia, Brazil, on Monday with military experts present to try to set truce conditions. There was no official word on the progress of the talks.
20 Peruvian officials admit they have lost four warplanes and two helicopters in the fighting.
21 On Sunday night, Fujimori said his forces shot down two Ecuadorean warplanes, an Israeli-made Kfir and a U.S.-made A-37.
22 Ecuador has not confirmed the downing of the planes. It said one of its planes was hit by Peruvian anti-aircraft fire, but returned to its base.
23 Ecuador's military said fighting continued Monday, including mortar and artillery fire from both sides.
24 On Monday, Peru's state-owned television station reported that a third Ecuadorean warplane had been shot down in the conflict zone. But the Ecuadorean military command said there was no air activity in the area by either side on Monday.

There was no immediate reaction from the Ecuadorean government . But a television station in the Ecuadorean capital of Quito reported that officials were surprised and skeptical about the announcement .
Ecuadorean
How will Ecuadorean government react to the cease-fire announcement?