The Arab League in Cairo is hosting a meeting of military chiefs of staff of its 26 member states to discuss the possibility of forming a joint Arab military aimed at combating jihadists including the Islamic State group (ISIL). In the light of a recommendation by the Arab League summit last month in Sharm el-Sheikh.
The regional bloc agreed in March to set up the force, with member states given four months to hammer out the details over its composition and precise rules of engagement.
Wednesday’s meeting was overseen by the Egyptian Armed Forces’ Chief of Staff Mahmud Hegazy, an AFP journalist said.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pushed for the creation of the regional force after the Islamic State organization executed a group of Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya in February, prompting retaliatory air strikes by Cairo.
The plan gained further momentum after Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched air strikes on Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen.
“The creation of a joint Arab force in no way aims to form a new alliance or army hostile to any country, but a force to fight terrorism and maintain security, peace and stability in the region,” Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said in a speech Wednesday.
IS has carried out widespread atrocities in the region and won the support of several other jihadist organizations.
On Sunday it released a video purportedly showing the execution of about 30 Ethiopian Christians captured in Libya.
AFP
