Morocco rejects independence for Western Sahara

Morocco has rejected the possibility of independence for Western Sahara.

The interior minister, Ahmed Midaoui, said there was only one solution to the dispute over the region -- that Morocco maintain control over what he called its entire territory.

Mr Midaoui was speaking on the day that Polisario marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of its fight for independence.

At the United Nations, the Security Council has extended for a further two months the UN mission to the Western Sahara headed by the former American Secretary of State, James Baker. A UN referendum on the future of the territory was due nine years ago but has not yet taken place because of disputes over who is eligible to vote.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service