CAIRO: Uganda would welcome Muammar Qadhafi if he requested asylum, Al Arabiya reported on Wednesday after Western and other states suggested the Libyan leader should go into exile to end the conflict in his country.

The television channel did not give further details.

Uganda is a member of the African Union ad hoc committee trying to mediate a resolution of the Libyan conflict after the United Nations authorised air strikes to protect Libyan civilians from forces loyal to Qadhafi.

The United States, Britain and Qatar, which joined others at a meeting on Libya in London on Tuesday, suggested Qadhafi and his family could be allowed to go into exile if they took up the offer quickly to end six weeks of bloodshed.

Qadhafi has been a driving force behind the African Union, his largesse has extended Libya's economic reach throughout sub-Saharan Africa and he still has some close friends in power.

But analysts say many African leaders have become frustrated with Gaddafi's erratic behaviour, some still harbour grudges over past meddling in internal conflicts and others may not want to tarnish their images further by giving him a home.

Uganda's government said on Tuesday it had taken control of Libya's majority stake in Uganda Telecom, the latest move to freeze Libyan assets in the east African nation in compliance with UN sanctions.