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UNITED NATIONS (AP) - In a rare acknowledgment the U.N. officials may have overstepped, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reissued a report Monday on the Western Sahara that eliminated controversial recommendations on the future of the disputed region.
The original report was released last month, a week after Morocco and rebels seeking independence ended their first direct talks in seven years by agreeing to meet again Aug. 10 after making no headway in resolving their 32-year dispute.
Morocco, whose occupation of the former Spanish colony in 1975 sparked a 16-year war with Polisario Front guerrillas, stuck to the autonomy plan it proposed in April that would maintain Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. The rebel movement, backed by Algeria, maintained its April demand for a referendum with a choice of autonomy or independence.
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