P124 MTV3 p124 .Ma 06 Hel 2207:27 6/6 ECUADOR BRACES FOR PROLONGED AQMED CONFLICT ... PERU, HOWEVER, SAID ON THURSDAX THATONLY 54 PEOPLE HAD DIED AND THAT 44 OF THEM WERE ECUADOREANS. TENSIONS HAVE CROPPED UP EACH YEAR BETWEEN THE TWO ANDEAN COUNTRIES BEFORE THE JANUARY 29, 1942, ANNIVERSARY OF THE RIO DE JANEIRO TREATY, WHICH AWARDED HALF OF ECUADOR TO PERU. ECUADOR REJECTED THE TREATY IN 1960, AND THE STRETCH OF JUNGLE, SAID TO CONTAIN GOLD, HAS BEEN A SOURFE OF CONTENTION EVER SINCE. <123 125>