After a more than four-hour meeting in the Mauritanian capital, the body also asked Libyan authorities to ensure "humanitarian aid to those in need," as well as the "protection of foreigners, including African expatriates living in Libya."

It underscored the need for "necessary political reforms to eliminate the causes of the present crisis."

Libyan generosity and Moamer Qadhafi's role in the creation of the African Union could explain the continental cautious stand, experts said.

The AU was born in the 1999 Sirte Declaration, named after a summit hosted by Qadhafi in his hometown on the Libyan coast.

The declaration said its authors felt inspired by Qadhafi's "vision for a strong and united Africa."

"The AU as an organisation has benefited significantly from Qadhafi's wealth," said Fred Golooba Mutebi of the Institute of Social Research at Kampala's Makerere University.

The pan-African body has taken a firmer stance on three west African crises: most recently Ivory Coast and previously Guinea and Niger.

Handouts aside, Libya has invested billions of dollars in sub-Saharan Africa.

It has interests in more than two dozen African countries, while its petroleum refining and distribution unit Oil Libya has interests in at least as many.

Libyan telecommunications unit LAP Green is present in five countries in the region and expanding rapidly.