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Arab foreign ministers to meet Monday in Beirut
H/T Littlegreen FootballsCAIRO (AFP) - Arab foreign ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting Monday in Beirut to support Lebanon, Arab League number two Ahmed Ben Helli told AFP. ADVERTISEMENT "The meeting of Arab foreign ministers will take place next Monday in Beirut, it will be a follow-up of the session which took place in Cairo on July 15," the deputy secretary general of the pan-Arab body said Friday. Israeli warplanes pounded areas north and south of Beirut on Friday, killing at least 28 people, as part of the military offensive against Lebanon launched following the July 12 capture of two Israeli soldiers by the Hezbollah militia. "We are holding this meeting in Beirut to express solidarity with Lebanon," the official added. Ben Helli said Arab League chief Amr Mussa was expected in Beirut on Sunday to prepare the meeting and hold talks with Lebanese officials on the crisis. In the meeting they held three days after the start of the military confrontation, Arab foreign ministers had admitted their impotence and Mussa had declared the Middle East peace process "dead". The idea of holding an extraordinary meeting of Arab League foreign ministers in the war-torn country was initially floated by Saudi Arabia. Permanent representatives at the Cairo-based organisation have been discussing the possibility of holding an extraordinary summit at the level of heads of state but the 22 members have so far failed to reach an agreement. Arab countries have been divided on the stand to take since Israel launched its onslaught, with the more moderate regimes refusing to rally behind the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement despite vocal criticism of Israel's assault. According to Lebanese officials, more than 900 people have been killed, mainly civilians, in Israel's devastating land, sea and air offensive. France and the United States were still locked in intense negotiations Friday over the wording of a United Nations Security Council resolution for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon. Posted by: Sherry 2006-08-04 |
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