CAIRO: Egypt recognized on Monday Libya’s National Transitional Council as the Arab League threw its weight behind Libya’s rebels.
"It pleases me at this historical occasion to announce that Egypt recognizes the new regime in Libya and the National Transitional Council that represents it," Egypt’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr said at a joint news conference with Abdel Moneim al-Huweini, the rebel envoy to Cairo and the Arab League.
Egypt, Libya’s eastern neighbor, has held back so far on recognizing the rebels, who started their uprising days after an Egyptian revolt ended president Hosni Mubarak’s three decade rule.
Amr said his government would hand over the office of Libya’s Arab League representative and the Cairo embassy to Huweini.
The rebels’ flag replaced Qaddafi’s green flag at the embassy in Cairo, less than a day after thousands of demonstrators demanded the replacement.
His announcement came hours after the Arab League expressed its full solidarity with the rebel government but stopped short of recognizing the NTC, which is led by Mustafa Abdel Jalil, Qaddafi’s ex-justice minister.
"Arab League chief Nabil Al-Araby offers his full solidarity with the ongoing efforts under the leadership of the National Transitional Council," the Cairo-based League said a statement that was its first formal acknowledgement of the council.
"This is a historic moment that marks a milestone in the history of the Libyan people. We hope the council’s efforts are successful in leading the new phase and protecting the independence, sovereignty and integrity of Libyan lands."
The Arab League suspended Libya’s membership after Qaddafi’s forces launched a bloody crackdown to try to stop an uprising spreading in the east of the country in February.
The League then backed a no-fly zone over Libya patrolled by mostly western powers, a historic move given the bitter memory of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
Since then the League has only sent medical aid to Libya and stopped short of formal dealings with the rebel council.
That changed on Monday as rebel fighters captured most of the Libyan capital.
Egypt, which had around 1.5 million migrant workers in Libya before the conflict erupted, had until Monday avoided any official mention of the council — in contrast to France, the United States and Britain which threw their weight behind it and cut ties with Qaddafi early in the conflict.
The European Union said it was already planning for the post-Qaddafi administration of Libya following the rapid advance of rebel forces.
