Moussa says Arab League considering Chavez plan

Chavez and Gaddafi agree on Venezuelan leader's offer to send int'l representatives to Libya to mediate between gov't, rebels.

By REUTERS
Amir Moussa 311 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Amir Moussa 311
(photo credit: REUTERS)
CAIRO - Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said on Thursday a peace plan proposed by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez to end the crisis in Libya was "under consideration".
Al Jazeera news network reported that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and Moussa had agreed to Chavez's plan to send representatives from several countries to Libya. "No," was Moussa's response when asked if he had agreed to the plan proposed by Chavez, a friend of Gaddafi.
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"We have been informed of President Chavez's plan but it is still under consideration," Moussa told Reuters by telephone on Thursday. "We consulted several leaders yesterday," he said, without providing a deadline to decide on the plan.
Moussa's consideration for the Chavez plan comes a day after the Arab League called on Muammar Gaddafi's government to halt attacks against Libyans, saying it would consider imposing a "no-fly" zone over the country which has been suspended from the organization.
Click for full Jpost coverage of turmoil in the Middle East
Click for full Jpost coverage of turmoil in the Middle East
Meanwhile, Muammar Gaddafi's Libyan army faced an increasingly organized and confident rebel force on Thursday which is appealing for international support and looking to take its military successes west towards Tripoli.
Rebels in their eastern bastion of Benghazi called for UN-backed air strikes to halt attacks by African mercenaries they said Gaddafi was using against his own people.
Analysts cautioned against drawing firm conclusions from fast moving events in a situation of erratic communications.
"We should keep in mind that both the government and the rebels are trying to spin an image of momentum," said Shashank Joshi, an analyst at Britain's Royal United Services Institute.