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Sharm El-sheikh,Egypt, Sunday,(AFP)-Arab leaders "completely rejected" any US-led strike against Iraq, or taking part in one, at a heated summit here but also swept aside a surprise proposal for Saddam Hussein to step down to avoid a war.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa read a final resolution following the one-day summit which rebuffed plans for a war on Iraq. It also stated the Arab leaders' "refusal to participate in military action" and called for a peaceful resolution to the crisis under the aegis of the United Nations.

The resolution adopted at this Red Sea resort further blasted "attempts to impose changes in the region," referring to US demands the Iraqi strongman be removed from power, possibly as a precursor to democratic reforms in the region.

That clause was also seen as a dismissal of a surprise plan presented by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) suggesting that "the Iraqi leadership quit power and leave Iraq, within a two-week time limit after it accepts this initiative."

The UAE plan submitted to the summit attended by leaders and officials from the 22 Arab League members was the first open call by an Arab state for Saddam to quit, although the idea had been debated secretly, according to delegates.

The plan suggested Iraq come under temporary UN and Arab League tutelage, provided that "judicial guarantees, binding on both international and national levels, to be given to the Iraqi leadership to make sure that it won't be prosecuted." The summit also pleaded for UN weapons inspectors be given more time to disarm Iraq peacefully.

The issue of US troops in the region also triggered a heated exchange between Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi and Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz, broadcast live on television from the conference hall.

Gaddafi charged that Saudi Arabia's King Fahd had been ready to "strike an alliance with the devil" to defend the kingdom after Iraq's 1990 invasion of neighbouring Kuwait. Crown Prince Abdullah then cut in, retorting that "Saudi Arabia is not an agent of colonialism" and demanding of Gaddafi: "Who exactly brought you to power? ... You are a liar and your grave awaits you."

Abdullah then walked out of the conference room, forcing a 30 minute adjournment of the summit that only resumed after participants calmed down the Saudi and Libyan delegations.

Before the row, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called on Arab states not to provide military facilities to the United States.

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