Monday, March 27, 2006

Many absent at Khartoum Arab League meeting

Today, Italian newswire Ham/Aki says according to Arab diplomatic sources cited by Saudi daily al-Watan, at least seven heads of states have announced to the Arab League they will not attend the meeting.

The first to communicate his absence was Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who reportedly said he could not be present because of security concerns tied to current tensions between Egypt and Sudan. Excerpt:
The sultan of Oman Qabus bin Said, Tunisian president Ben Ali, Morocco's king Muhammad VI, the king of Bahrain Hamed bin Isa and Iraqi president Jalal Talabani will also not attend, the report said.

The king of Saudi Arabia Abdullah might also reportedly be absent so as to avoid Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was among the first to reach Khartoum on Sunday.

The meeting is slated to re-elect Amr Moussa at the helm of the organisation and discuss the Sudanese region of Darfur, the Iraqi crisis and the peace process in the Middle East.

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