(Newswire.net — March 30, 2015) — At the summit of Arab leaders in Egypt’s tourist complex Sharm el-Sheikh, President Abdel Sisi has announced that Arab League has agreed to form a joined Arab military force.
“The Arab leaders have decided to ‘agree in principle’ to a joint Arab military force,” Sisi said Sunday as the summit wrapped up. The main subject at the summit was the situation in Yemen and where it could lead, as Saudi Arabia lead air strikes against rebels in that country.
The leaders called for “coordination, efforts and steps to establish a unified Arab force” to intervene in countries such as Yemen. Russia Today reported.
Egyptian President Sisi said the League would establish a high-level panel that will work out the structure and mechanism of the future force, RT reported.
There was no detailed information on the structure of the force released, but earlier reports said the joint Arab military could amount to roughly 40,000 elite troops who would be backed by warplanes, warships and light armor. It is yet unknown if all 22 members of the Arab League will contribute equally in military power, or provide equal budgets to finance such army.
The Arab leaders initially agreed to form a joint force, but the actual formation of the force could take months.
During the summit in the popular Egyptian resort, the Arab leaders also called on the West to form a new ‘more comprehensive’ response to militancy in Middle East countries, such as the one in Libya.
The call came after statements regarding the aftermath of the NATO bombing campaign which helped to oust Libya leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Removing Gaddafi from power resulted in the civil war that not only devastated the country, but resulted in creating a breeding ground for Islamic radicals, including IS ‘freedom’ fighters.
The discussion on Yemen, where Shiite Houthi rebels ousted President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and forced him to flee to Saudi Arabia, dominated the summit.
Saudi Arabia gathered ten countries to support still ongoing joint airstrikes. Reportedly, the Arab leaders said the operation in Yemen is to continue until the Houthis withdraw and hand over their weapons. Prior the airstrikes, all UN and foreign staff were evacuated. The US closed the Embassy and pulled all military personnel, leaving behind a half a billion dollars worth military aid in weapons, gear, and ammunition.
Yemen’s president fled to Saudi Arabia amid the pressure of the Houthi rebels from one side, and the tribal divisions and economic struggle from the other side that strengthened the opposition and the Yemeni branch of Al-Qaeda.