Blake Hall
Amid the growing conflict in Yemen — not to mention Syria and Iraq — the 22-nation Arab League agreed in principle to the creation of a joint Arab military force after a two-day summit at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt on Sunday.
According to the BBC, it’s still unclear where or when the the force will be deployed. The League did confirm, however, that Saudi Arabia-led airstrikes will continue in Yemen until the Shiites surrender.
“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,” said Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby.
More from USA Today:
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 Associated Press. 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.