23 May 2004	Sunday	03 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

TUNIS, May 22: Libyan leader Moamar Qadhafi announced that he was pulling out of the Arab summit here on Saturday and called for Libya's withdrawal from the 22-member Arab League.

"Libya sees itself forced to boycott the summit because it does not agree with the agenda," Qadhafi told a press conference after he walked out of the summit's opening session in Tunis.

A delegate said Qadhafi may have been perturbed when Arab League chief Amr Mussa issued veiled criticism of him during his speech.

"Voices call for getting rid of the Arab League or breaking it up as if it were the cause of all the ills of the Arab nation, which is false," Mussa said in his speech.

Mr Qadhafi also said he hoped the people's committees that nominally run the country would "approve Libya's withdrawal from the Arab League."-AFP