"I have submitted my resignation in protest against the acts of repression and violence against demonstrators (in Libya) and I am joining the ranks of the revolution," Honi said yesterday.

He was speaking to journalists in Cairo, where the pan-Arab group has its headquarters, after Human Rights Watch said the brutal crackdown on dissent in Libya had claimed at
least 173 lives.

Libya currently holds the rotating Arab League presidency.

Honi said he had sent his resignation to the Libyan foreign ministry, and that since Saturday he has had "no connection" with his ambassadorial-level position.

Sources in the 22-member Arab League said they were unaware of Honi's resignation.