Arab Leaders Approve Forming Joint Military Force: Egypt’s Sisi

Local Editor

Arab Summit 2015

Arab leaders have agreed to form a joint military force, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced Sunday on the second and final day of a summit.

"The Arab leaders had decided to agree on the principle of a joint Arab military force," Sisi said in a speech at the gathering in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Arab representatives would meet to study the creation of the force, said Sisi.

The decision was mostly aimed at fighting 'jihadists' who have overrun swathes of Iraq and Syria and won a foothold in Libya, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said ahead of the summit.

On Sunday, Arabi told the meeting that the region was threatened by a "destructive" force that threatened "ethnic and religious diversity," in an apparent reference to ISIL terrorists.

Egypt had pushed for the creation of the rapid response force to fight militants, and the matter was intensified this week after Saudi Arabia and Arab allies launched an aggression on Yemen.

Arabi on Sunday said the offensive would continue until the "Houthis withdraw from regions they have overrun and surrender their weapons."

A Saudi-led aggression on Yemen has been ongoing for five days, murdering the civilians and targeting residential and governmental buildings, under the pretext that they support the "legitimate president".

It is worth noting that the outgoing president Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi submitted his resignation, escaping the national commitments, and resorted to employing militiamen to fight the Yemenis who demand democracy, freedom and reformation.

In a different context, the Arab Summit recommended reaching a political solution for the Syrian crisis on the basis of Geneva I conference.

The conferees also called on the Libya to restore stability and security to its border with Algeria.