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UN seeks Western Sahara deal by end of January
United Nations, Oct 28: UN Security Council members agreed to give Morocco, Algeria and the Polisario Front Independence movement three more months to end their dispute over Western Sahara`s future, diplomats said.
United Nations, Oct 28: UN Security Council members agreed to give Morocco, Algeria and the Polisario Front Independence movement three more months to end their dispute over Western Sahara's future, diplomats said.
The Council was planning to adopt a resolution today extending the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the desert territory until January 31, 2004, to give the parties more time to try to reach a deal on the fate of the desert territory seized by Morocco in 1975 after it won independence from Spain, the diplomats said.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told Morocco last week it should accept by January 1 a peace plan for the Western Sahara recommended by his special envoy, former US Secretary of State James Baker. But Morocco, backed by France, rejected Annan's ultimatum and complained of UN bias against it while the Algerian-backed Polisario Front, which fought a guerrilla war with Morocco from 1976 to 1991, called for all sides to accept the plan.
Baker's proposal would make the territory, which is rich in phosphates and may also have offshore oil deposits, a semi-autonomous part of Morocco for a four- to five-year transition period.
A referendum then would let residents choose independence, continued semi-autonomy or integration with Morocco. Morocco has ruled out a referendum on independence while the Polisario has insisted on one.
The territorial dispute has been the main stumbling block to a full normalization of ties between Morocco and Algeria, neighbours whose shared border has been closed since 1994.
The UN mission for the referendum in Western Sahara, known as Minurso, has been in place since 1991 and its current mandate would expire at the end of the month unless renewed. The mission now has some 222 military observers and troops.
During closed-door discussions yesterday, Security Council members generally steered away from substantive discussion of the issue, although France reiterated its view that the council should not seek to impose a solution on the parties from the outside, diplomats said. Bureau Report
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told Morocco last week it should accept by January 1 a peace plan for the Western Sahara recommended by his special envoy, former US Secretary of State James Baker. But Morocco, backed by France, rejected Annan's ultimatum and complained of UN bias against it while the Algerian-backed Polisario Front, which fought a guerrilla war with Morocco from 1976 to 1991, called for all sides to accept the plan.
Baker's proposal would make the territory, which is rich in phosphates and may also have offshore oil deposits, a semi-autonomous part of Morocco for a four- to five-year transition period.
A referendum then would let residents choose independence, continued semi-autonomy or integration with Morocco. Morocco has ruled out a referendum on independence while the Polisario has insisted on one.
The territorial dispute has been the main stumbling block to a full normalization of ties between Morocco and Algeria, neighbours whose shared border has been closed since 1994.
The UN mission for the referendum in Western Sahara, known as Minurso, has been in place since 1991 and its current mandate would expire at the end of the month unless renewed. The mission now has some 222 military observers and troops.
During closed-door discussions yesterday, Security Council members generally steered away from substantive discussion of the issue, although France reiterated its view that the council should not seek to impose a solution on the parties from the outside, diplomats said. Bureau Report