Arab League (AL) foreign ministers on Saturday decided to open an AL office in Baghdad as part of efforts to show support to the war-torn country, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said.

The decision "reflects Arab concern over what is happening in Iraq," Abul Gheit told reporters at the end of a one-day meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the AL headquarters in Cairo.

The decision was also meant to help prepare for a comprehensive Iraqi national reconciliation conference to be held in Iraq in June, Abul Gheit added.

Leaders or representatives of various Iraqi political and religious groups held a meeting in Cairo in last November under the auspices of the AL.

They had decided to hold a more comprehensive national reconciliation conference in Iraq at the end of February or at the beginning of March, but the proposed meeting has been put off as Iraqis failed to form a new government months after the parliamentary elections held in last December.

Arab foreign ministers also reiterated their support for the political process in Iraq, according to a resolution released at the end of the meeting.

Arab countries should send ambassadors to Iraq and help the Iraqis to push forward the political process, read the resolution.

The Arab foreign ministers also condemned sectarian violence in Iraq and voiced support for the Iraqi government's efforts to restore security and stability.

Some three years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the country is still facing relentless violence and bloodshed.

A recent flare-up in sectarian violence after the bombing of one of the holiest Shiite shrines in Iraq has led many to believe the country is now at the very brink of a civil war.

More than 500 people are estimated to have been killed since unidentified militants bombed the Ali al-Hadi Mausoleum in the northern Iraqi town of Samarra on Feb. 22.

The incident outraged the Shiite community, who blamed Sunni Arabs for the bombing and attacked dozens of Sunni mosques in retaliation.

Source: Xinhua