The World : Morocco Battles Polisario

Morocco and its guerrilla enemies in the Polisario Front reported a major battle in Western Sahara less than three weeks after conditionally approving a U.N. peace plan. Morocco said there were 270 casualties in fierce fighting that raged Friday around the Oum Dreiga section of Morocco’s defense line. The Polisario, fighting for independence for Western Sahara, reported 200 Moroccan soldiers “put out of action” and 25 taken prisoner. It was the first reported fighting since Aug. 30, when the belligerents agreed to the U.N. plan calling for a truce and a referendum offering the inhabitants of the sparsely populated region a choice between independence or integration with Morocco.