Arab nations have formally asked the 191-member UN General Assembly to convene a special meeting to adopt a resolution calling for ceasefire in Iraq and respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Arab Group's chairman Ambassador Abdullah Alsaidi of Yemen, who sent in the request, said they are moving the assembly as there is no chance of such a resolution being adopted by the 15-member Security Council.

Any resolution adopted by the assembly is not binding but could prove embarrassing for the United States and Britain who are seen by a majority of the members as waging a war that is not authorised by the Security Council.

The Arabs said about 50 countries who are supporting the United States might try to block a debate in the assembly but they had made the request in view of the fierce fighting in which thousands might have been killed.

The Arabs sent in their request on Tuesday after a closed-door meeting of the 116-member Non Aligned Movement (NAM) failed to develop a consensus on seeking the session.

Arab diplomats had been working for days to get the support of the NAM.

But diplomats say it could be several days before the General Assembly convenes as the US and Britain are working against it, asserting that it was unnecessary and would be divisive.

The assembly's 28-member General Committee is scheduled to consider the request on Friday, diplomats say.

PTI