Arabs Demand U.N. No-Fly Zone: Gadhafi’s Regime ‘Lost Legitimacy’

The Arab League on Saturday urged the United Nations to slap a no-fly zone on Libya and said Moammar Gadhafi's regime had "lost legitimacy," in a boost for rebels fighting to unseat the strongman.

The pan-Arab organization also announced its recognition of the transitional national council set up by the rebels in their eastern stronghold of Benghazi and said they would open contact with the group.

Britain and the United States welcomed the 22-member League's support for a no-fly zone over Libya.

Arab foreign ministers concluded crisis talks in Cairo by urging the U.N. Security Council "to assume its responsibilities in the face of the deteriorating situation in Libya and take the necessary measures to impose an air exclusion zone for Libyan warplanes."

They also called in a resolution for the establishment of safe havens "to protect the Libyan people and all other nationals" living in areas subjected to attacks by Gadhafi forces.

Libyan leader Gadhafi's regime "has lost its legitimacy (because of) the massive and dangerous violations" it has committed, said the resolution adopted after the talks at the League's headquarters in the Egyptian capital.

The Arab League will "cooperate... with the (opposition) provisional national council and provide support and protection for the Libyan people," it said.

The League "remains opposed to foreign intervention", warning however that "failure to act to solve the crisis will lead to foreign intervention," the resolution added.

"It is necessary to respect international human rights laws, stop the crimes against the Libyan people, stop the fighting, and withdraw Libyan forces from cities and regions they entered," the resolution said.

It insisted that the Libyan people have a "right to achieve their demands" and democracy.

Arab League chief Amr Mussa told reporters that the decision to cooperate with the 30-member Libyan transitional council was de facto "recognition" of the opposition group.

"We gave them (the council) legitimacy," Oman's foreign affairs chief, Yussef bin Alawi, told reporters.

Diplomats earlier said that nine of the 11 foreign ministers present had backed plans for a no-fly zone. Algeria and Syria had voted against.

But Mussa himself called for a no-fly zone as proposed by Western countries and said he wanted the pan-Arab organization to play a role in imposing it, in an interview published on Saturday.

"The United Nations, the Arab League, the African Union, the Europeans -- everyone should participate," Mussa told German weekly Der Spiegel.

Following the Cairo resolution, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "We welcome this important step by the Arab League, which strengthens the international pressure on Gadhafi and support for the Libyan people.

In London, a Foreign Office spokeswoman described League backing for the no-fly zone as "very significant".

"The outcome of today's Arab League meeting shows Gadhafi's actions do not have support in the region," she said.

The national council on March 5 declared itself Libya's sole representative at its first meeting in Benghazi, the rebel stronghold city in the North African country's east.