Arab League to Hold Crisis Talks on Libya Saturday

Arab foreign ministers are to hold crisis talks on Saturday to discuss imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, Arab League officials said, as Libyan jets keep up near daily strikes to crush a rebellion.

The meeting was initially scheduled for Friday, but was postponed a day after requests from several foreign ministers, deputy secretary general Ahmed Ben Hilli told reporters.

"The meeting was requested by several Arab states and comes after several contacts undertaken by the secretary general," said Hisham Youssef, Secretary General Amr Moussa's chief of staff.

Another Arab League official said the meeting is aimed at "discussing the steps to be taken to protect the Libyan people, including imposing a no-fly zone over Libya."

The 22-member body, which last week said it would reject any foreign military intervention in Libya, had barred Tripoli from attending its meetings until it responds to the demands of the rebels.

Rights groups say thousands have been killed since February 15 in Libya where rebels are fighting to overthrow leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu earlier Tuesday called on the United Nations to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya.

"We join our voice to the voices asking for a no-fly zone in Libya, and we call on the Security Council to do its duty in this regard," Ihsanoglu said at the start of an emergency meeting of the 57-member OIC in Saudi Arabia.

A British-French resolution demanding a no-fly zone over Libya could go before the U.N. Security Council as early as this week, diplomats said Monday.

Britain and France have made the most aggressive calls among Western powers for a no-fly zone to hamper Gadhafi's offensive and deny his airforce the freedom to attack the rag-tag rebel elements seeking to overthrow his regime.

Any move toward collective military action of any kind is likely to face tough resistance from China, Russia and other members of the Security Council.