CAIRO, Nov 12: Yasser Arafat's solemn funeral procession in Egypt ended with confusion for many on Friday as prime ministers , foreign ministers and other dignitaries were left stranded and searching for their cars in the street.

"It's a mess," said one of the Arab officials, milling around on the roadside after Arafat's coffin entered the Cairo military airbase to be flown to Ramallah. The procession had begun with military precision, Arafat's body hauled on a polished gun carriage pulled at a stately pace by beautifully groomed horses and followed by kings, presidents and other VIPs.

But once the coffin had made the short journey along the Cairo street to the airbase, organization broke down, although not to the level of the chaotic scenes later on Friday when Arafat's body reached the West Bank town of Ramallah.

The Arab official described how one Arab foreign minister was barred from passing through the airbase gates with the procession, until he was hauled through by Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, who explained to the security guards who the dignitary was.

"Yasser Arafat's life was like this, his death should be like this," added another senior Arab official, an allusion to what some saw as Arafat's preference for Byzantine administrative structures that confused even his closest aides.

One senior Western official said several VIPs were prevented from entering the military airport until guards spotted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the crowd.

"We were treated like a mob ... until finally one guard recognised Bashar al-Assad and let us through, but it was too late, the ceremony was over and Arafat's coffin was being placed inside the plane. We came all this way for nothing," the Western official said after the 12-minute procession.

"Where's the car? The plane is going in half an hour," pleaded a member of one European delegation to an Egyptian security officer as he wandered amidst the visiting officials. Fifteen minutes later, the European official was still there.

Nearby French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier sheltered behind a wall to make a phone call as his delegation waited for transport. US Assistant Secretary of State William Burns wended his way through a small traffic jam of limousines, his security guards urging him to stay on the pavement.

Other foreign ministers loitered on the cool grass in the centre of the road, among them Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. But the Turkish officials used their time for some diplomacy, having a quiet chat with a member of the Greek delegation in the shade of some trees. -Reuters