UN postpones session on Western Sahara

The United Nations Security Council has postponed a special session on the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

A UN spokesman , Fred Eckhard, said the closed-door consultation might be held next week. The UN has been trying for more than eight years to organise a referendum to decide whether the disputed territory should be incorporated into Morocco or become independent. The call for the UN session came amid reports of serious unrest in the territory .

A representative of the group campaigning for independence, the Polisario Front, said there was a heavy Moroccan security presence in the capital Laayoune, after students demonstrated last Saturday, demanding the release of activists.

But Morocco dismissed the reports, accusing Polisario of exaggeration and propaganda.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service