UN steps up security for rally

The United Nations mission in Western Sahara says it's tightening security ahead of the planned passage through the territory of the Paris-Dakar motor rally.

The mission's military commander, Claude Bize, was quoted by the French news agency as saying patrols had been stepped up along the route competitors are due to take on Sunday.

The Polisario Front, which is seeking independence for Western Sahara, has repeatedly threatened to break its ceasefire with Morocco which has been in place since 1991 if the rally passes through the territory.

Morocco has dismissed the Polisario threats as propaganda. And a rally official, Hubert Auriol, has said he's had assurances from the Moroccan authorities that the race would go smoothly.

The event has been condemned by some French campaigners -- the Mouvement Critique du Sport -- as an offensive display of western luxury that insults the impoverished African continent.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service