The Arab League said Wednesday it would consider backing a no-fly zone over Libya to end its crackdown on anti-regime rebels, but ruled out supporting any direct foreign military intervention. "The Arab countries cannot remain with their arms folded when the blood of the brotherly Libyan people is being shed," the league said in a resolution after a meeting of foreign ministers in Cairo.
"The ministers have decided to pursue talks on the best way to protect Libya's citizens and to assure their security, including the imposition of an aerial exclusion zone and co-ordination between the Arab League and the African Union on this subject," it said. The Arab League last month barred Libya from its meetings until strongman Moamer Kadhafi responds to the demands of protesters, amid a crackdown by the regime that one rights group says has killed 6,000 people.
League chief Amr Mussa had earlier told the meeting, attended by foreign ministers and representatives of the 22-member body, that the situation in Libya was "catastrophic". But the decision to keep the no-fly zone option open was a surprise after officials at the Arab League had earlier appeared set against all foreign involvement in the situation in Libya.
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