Rebels Pull Out Of Voter Registration Program

Rebels in Western Sahara have pulled out of a U.N. voter registration program, accusing neighboring Morocco of trying to include its settlers in a referendum on the status of the desert territory.

Polisario rebels have fought a 15-year war against Morocco, which controls the sparsely populated, mineral-rich former Spanish colony on the northwest coast of Africa.

The independence vote, originally scheduled for 1992, has been delayed by disputes over who can participate. A U.N. team that toured the area this month said the election, scheduled for January, may be postponed again.