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The United States launched a long-expected military offensive against Iraq early Thursday morning, just about 90 minutes after the expiration of a US ultimatum for Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to step down or face war.
Shortly after the outbreak of the US-led war, most Arab nations uttered concern and even condemnation of the preemptive war in the Gulf region, while keeping a vigilant eye on the development of the situation in Iraq.
In a phone conversation with US President George W. Bush, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called for a quick ceasefire.
Former Egyptian Defense Minister Saad al-Bin al-Shazli told Xinhua "US military action against Iraq will not be easy as they thought."
"The ground battle will be key for the military action," Aal-Shazli noted. "Though Iraqi forces are backward in equipment and technology, they are experienced."
Jordanian Information Minister Mohamad Adwan said his kingdom was "very worried" about the repercussions of the war on Iraq.
He urged the "international community to unite its efforts" for an end to the crisis.
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud condemned the US military aggression on Iraq, saying the US aggression on the Arab nation was in defiance of the collective international will.
"The US disrespect of the UN role and its breach of international norms and laws will throw the world into a dark endless tunnel," Lahoud said.
The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) said in a statement that the Palestinians "are following the war against Iraq and the Iraqi people with anxiety, and call for sparing the Iraqi people a destructive war."
The statement urged the international community and the UN Security Council "to immediately end the war against Iraq without any delay."
"The international community is responsible for achieving peace and security in our region as well as ending the Israeli military occupation of the Arab and Palestinian territories," it added.
The Cairo-based Arab League (AL) held an emergency meeting Thursday afternoon and reiterated the resolution issued at the recent Arab summit at Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh should be respected.
In the resolution, Arab leaders stressed their unified opposition to the use of force against Iraq.
Earlier on Thursday, AL chief Amr Moussa termed the day (Thursday) a "sad day" for all the Arabs in his first reaction to the start of US military attacks on Iraq.
He called on the UN Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities, as a body in charge of keeping international peace and security, and move fast to halt the war and the aggression on Iraq.
Large-scale anti-war demonstrations took place in the region to show their solidarity with the Iraqi people.
Thousands of Egyptian university students held demonstrations in the capital city of Cairo to protest against the US-led strike against Iraq, shouting anti-US and anti-Israel slogans.
Hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets in the Gaza Strip in support for Iraq and its President Saddam Hussein.
Schoolchildren in the northern and southern Gaza Strip, holding portraits of Saddam and waving Palestinian and Iraqi flags, hailed the Iraqi leader and protested against the US-led war on Iraq.
About 800 schoolchildren from the village of Beit Hanoun burned two US flags and shouted slogans such as "death to America, death to George Bush," and "our soul and our blood are scarified for Saddam."
In view of the current developments in Iraq, many of the regional countries beefed up their security and lifted the alert to higher level.
Iran has closed its airspace to US forces after the war broke out in neighboring Iraq. It has also shut down the northern border with Iraq in the shadow of the US bombing.
Jordan has declared to close its eastern border region with Iraq.
Kuwait sounded sirens Thursday and alarmed the people to put on their gas masks after Iraq fired six Scud missiles into northern Kuwait, hours after the US-British forces launched a predawn attack on Iraq.
Kuwaiti Defense Ministry officials said sirens would sound every time when there was a threat.
Israel, the US strongest ally in the Middle East, has placed all its embassies and consulates around the world at the highest level of security preparedness after the start of the US military operation on Iraq.
Nearly all foreign embassies in Baghdad, except the Yemeni embassy, have been closed and the embassies staff have been evacuated.
The Yemeni embassy sources said they will remain in Iraq and will continue their job.
(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2003)
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