U.N. Western Sahara mission extended

UNITED NATIONS, D.C., May 1 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council has extended its Western Sahara mission, charged with monitoring the cease-fire between Morocco and independence-seeking rebels.

The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved the one-year extension, calling on parties to engage in a "more intensive and substantive phase of negotiations" to resolve the dispute, the council said in a news release issued from New York. The mission also is charged with organizing a referendum on self-determination.

Morocco maintains that its sovereignty over Western Sahara should be recognized, but the Frente Polisario, said a referendum including independence as an option should decide the territory's status. The Frente Polisario is a rebel movement working for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco.

In a report on the matter, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote the commitment of the two parties to negotiate was welcomed, but a breakthrough hasn't happened yet.

"Momentum can only be maintained by trying to find a way out of the current political impasse through realism and a spirit of compromise from both parties," Ban said.

In its resolution, the Security Council called on the parties to proceed with negotiations "with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution."