Arab League agrees to create joint Arab military force
Arab League agrees to create joint Arab military force,The leaders of countries in the 22-nation Arab League agreed to the principle of creating a joint Arab military force at a summit in Egypt on Sunday.
The decision was announced in the closing session of a two-day meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. It is currently unclear whether the force would be deployed in conflict-hit Yemen, the BBC reported.
The League said Saudi Arabia-led airstrikes in Yemen will continue until Shiite rebels "withdraw and surrender their weapons."
Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said: "Yemen was on the brink of the abyss, requiring effective Arab and international moves after all means of reaching a peaceful resolution have been exhausted to end the Houthi coup and restore legitimacy," the Associated Press reported
The Arab League statement calls for the establishment of a voluntary military force that can counter challenges that threaten the safety and security of any member, based on a request from that state, according to the Al Arabiya network.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said a high-level panel under the supervision of Arab chiefs of staff will work out the structure and mechanism of the force, according to the AP. Egyptian officials say it would be made up of around 40,000 elite troops and backed by jets, warships and light armor, the news agency reported.The Saudi-led airstrikes have pushed Shiite rebels out of contested air bases in Yemen, the kingdom said Sunday.
Saudi Brig. Gen. Ahmed bin Hasan Asiri said the strikes continued to target Scud missiles, leaving most of their launching pads "devastated," the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. On Saturday, he warned that the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, could control more of the missiles, according to the AP.
Al Arabiya reported that the strikes, which have entered their fourth day, hit military targets and weapons depots controlled by Houthis in the city of Saada in northern Yemen on Sunday.It said Houthis were reported to have released 1,800 inmates in the city and tried to release prisoners held in Yemen's central prison and at detention facilities in other parts of the country.
The Pakistani government said Saturday it was making arrangements to evacuate its citizens and embassy personnel from Yemen, where it says it has 3,000 nationals.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Pakistani nationals are being taken to safer cities, from where special flights will be arranged to return them to Pakistan.
Yemen's President Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, as the Houthis advanced on his base in Aden in the south of the country.
Speaking at the Arab League summit on Saturday, Hadi directly accused Iran of being behind the Houthi offensive, the AP reported. Iran and the Houthis deny that Tehran arms the rebels.
Iran has called the attacks on the Houthis a "dangerous step."
The decision was announced in the closing session of a two-day meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. It is currently unclear whether the force would be deployed in conflict-hit Yemen, the BBC reported.
The League said Saudi Arabia-led airstrikes in Yemen will continue until Shiite rebels "withdraw and surrender their weapons."
Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said: "Yemen was on the brink of the abyss, requiring effective Arab and international moves after all means of reaching a peaceful resolution have been exhausted to end the Houthi coup and restore legitimacy," the Associated Press reported
The Arab League statement calls for the establishment of a voluntary military force that can counter challenges that threaten the safety and security of any member, based on a request from that state, according to the Al Arabiya network.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said a high-level panel under the supervision of Arab chiefs of staff will work out the structure and mechanism of the force, according to the AP. Egyptian officials say it would be made up of around 40,000 elite troops and backed by jets, warships and light armor, the news agency reported.The Saudi-led airstrikes have pushed Shiite rebels out of contested air bases in Yemen, the kingdom said Sunday.
Saudi Brig. Gen. Ahmed bin Hasan Asiri said the strikes continued to target Scud missiles, leaving most of their launching pads "devastated," the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. On Saturday, he warned that the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, could control more of the missiles, according to the AP.
Al Arabiya reported that the strikes, which have entered their fourth day, hit military targets and weapons depots controlled by Houthis in the city of Saada in northern Yemen on Sunday.It said Houthis were reported to have released 1,800 inmates in the city and tried to release prisoners held in Yemen's central prison and at detention facilities in other parts of the country.
The Pakistani government said Saturday it was making arrangements to evacuate its citizens and embassy personnel from Yemen, where it says it has 3,000 nationals.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Pakistani nationals are being taken to safer cities, from where special flights will be arranged to return them to Pakistan.
Yemen's President Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, as the Houthis advanced on his base in Aden in the south of the country.
Speaking at the Arab League summit on Saturday, Hadi directly accused Iran of being behind the Houthi offensive, the AP reported. Iran and the Houthis deny that Tehran arms the rebels.
Iran has called the attacks on the Houthis a "dangerous step."