Libyan leader arrives in Khartoum for Arab summit

Mar 26, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Libyan leader Moamer Gadhafi arrived in the Sudanese capital to participate in the two-day annual summit of Arab leaders.

The maverick leader — who had been expected to skip the summit — was the first leader to land in Khartoum for Tuesday’s annual gathering of Arab kings and Presidents.

Dressed in a white suit and flaunting a long bright-yellow scarf, Gadhafi walked the red carpet flanked by his Sudanese host Omar al-Bashir and followed by two of his female bodyguards who sported green scarfs under their military hats.

An Arab League official had said Friday that Gadhafi was not participating in 18th Arab summit.

Arab leaders are expected to push for a stronger Arab role in Iraq and address the Arab-Israeli conflict in light of the stunning win of January polls by the Islamist movement Hamas.

They are also poised to address the escalating tension over an imminent UN intervention in Sudan’s troubled western region of Darfur.

(ST/AFP)