Arab League chief: We respect UN resolution on Libya military action

            Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on Monday that he respected a UN resolution that authorized military action on Libya, after earlier comments suggested he was concerned by actions taken by Western powers. "The Arab League position on Libya was decisive and from the first moment we froze membership of Libya ... Then we asked the United Nations to implement a no-fly zone," he told a news conference with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "It is for protecting civilians and that is what we care about," Moussa said, speaking at Arab League headquarters in Cairo. Western powers launched a second wave of air strikes on Libya early on Monday after halting the advance of Gaddafi's forces on Benghazi and targeting air defenses to let their planes patrol the skies over the North African state.Iraq's government spokesman said on Monday it backed "international efforts to protect the Libyan people" but powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr condemned intervention and said Western states should avoid civilian casualties. Sadr, who long led violent opposition among Shi'ites to the U.S. presence in Iraq, has since become a key part of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's ruling coalition. Abdulrahman al-Attiyah, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, said Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were taking part in the Western-led Libya intervention for "safety and security according to the UN resolution".

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