Morocco plays down Polisario threat

The Moroccan government says it doesn't think that the separatist Polisario movement will carry out its threat to end a nine-year ceasefire.

On Friday, Polisario said it would disrupt next month's Paris to Dakar car rally, describing it as a violation of the ceasefire and an insult to the wishes of the Saharan people.

The Moroccan employment minister, Abbas El Fassi, said he didn't believe that Algeria, which backs Polisario, would allow the ceasefire to be broken.

The Polisario Front is fighting for independence for Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony annexed by Morocco in 1975.

A ceasefire ended fighting between Polisario and Moroccan forces in 1991, but United Nations attempts to sponsor a referendum have been plagued by disagreements on voting lists.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service