The Arab League has approved the formation of a unified Arab military force at the Arab League Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
At the closing speech, Egypt’s President said that Arab leaders had unanimously agreed to the formation of the military force, and that military leaders from each Arab country would be meeting shortly to explore details surrounding the establishment of the joint force.
The Egyptian President added that the decision to establish the force would be implemented as soon as possible and was a necessary step that would allow the Arab world to face the numerous challenges that exist.
A day earlier, Egypt’s Sisi had vowed the unified force would adhere to the United Nations and international law, adding that it would not “compromise the sovereignty of any Arab country”, but would be a tool to confront challenges facing Arab national security.
The decision came at a rare meeting of Arab world leaders in Egypt. Among those in attendance were the heads of state of Yemen, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Palestine and others.
The United Nations Secretary General Ban-ki Moon also attended the summit upon invitation by the Arab League. During his speech, the UN Secretary General called for a peaceful solution to the situation in Yemen and said that military operations had only initiated upon the request of Yemen’s President.
The summit had been held to discuss the situation in Yemen, Libya, Syria, Palestine and other regional matters. This is the first Arab League summit to be held in Egypt since the January 2011 revolution.
Saudi Arabia slams Russia
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Saud bin Faisal meanwhile slammed Russia after a letter from Vladimir Putin was read out at the Arab League summit.
The Foreign Minister declared that Russia is proposing peaceful solutions while it continues to support and arm the Syrian regime.
Putin’s letter had stated that combating terrorism must include a regional political solution.
Qatar vows to supports ‘brother’ Sisi
Qatari Emir Tamim Bin Hammad Al-Thani’s attendance at the Arab League’s summit came is being viewed as an attempt to ease the escalating tensions between Cairo and Doha.
Despite strained relations since the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, Qatar’s Emir vowed to support his “brother President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi” in all sectors that it can.
During a meeting between the Egyptian President and the Qatari Emir, the two heads of state vowed to work together to end their differences. Among the steps proposed was a return of the Egypt’s Ambassador to Doha and Qatar’s Ambassador to Cairo.
Comments (21)
[…] new military coalition comes after the Arab League approved the formation of a joint Arab Military Force in March 2015 at a summi…. The decision to form the joint Arab military force came at a rare meeting of most Arab world […]
Good, but throw Saudi Arabia out of the force. Saudi Arabia is an obstacle in the Arab-Russian-Chinese alliance.
The force is Saudi Arabia’s idea – they are collecting their Egyptian debts by putting Egyptian men into battle for them.
You don’t think Saudis will be fighting, do you?
Actually, it was Sisi’s idea.
The Saudis are however the strongest backers as they seek security of their proxy war with Iran.
Sisi is just the front man. What benefit for Egypt other than Saudi payment?
Well, the force can be used to fix the situation in Libya.
The Unified Arab force was Sisi’s initiative. The intervention in Yemen was Saudi’s initiative. Jusrt to clear that up 🙂
I agree that Egypt should send ground troops and aid Saudi as they have done for us monetarily. We have manpower. But I think that ground troops should also be contributed from other countries. Egypt’s Sa3qa are amongst the best in the world, but Jordan, KSA and Pakistan’s are also excellent.
Saudi is also amassing 150000 troops on it’s border, chico. I don’t think they are all sitting there just to have tea time while the Egyptians solely hack away at the Houthi’s.
Nevertheless, KSA’s security is part and parcel to Egypt’s security. We should not abandon.
As for the A-R-C alliance mentioned first, every country has its own opinion and is entitled to express it. Russia is our ally, yes. However, we Egyptians express extreme animosity to USA all the time, although they are a close Saudi ally. Arabs, Russians, Chinese, we all need each other in the face of a menacing West.
That’s not going to happen.
Egypt should just invade Libya and annex it.
The whole point of the joint Arab force is to stabilize the region. Its very likely that Libya is their next target along with ISIL / Assad in Syria.
Annexing Libya would be the worse thing Egypt can do. Aside from the backlash, we have to deal with the security situation there. We would also have to rebuild entire cities with money we don’t have.
Libya has oil, if production is restored there is plenty of money.
The cities are not that banged up, except for Tawerga.
True but we’re not going to invade an entire nation for oil. Thats not what Egypt dose.
You must think about this rationally. Annexing Libya means annexing its problems, the security turmoil would spread to Egypt. Not to mention the backlash of annexing a sovereign state. Though many Arab nations would be happy to see Egypt annex Libya, the international community and the general population would lose its s**t.
The negatives outweigh the positives.
Since Libya has a population of only 6 million, it could not be that hard for Egypt.
Probably a lot of Libyans would welcome it. Just go in, demobilize or crush the militias, keep border security in place for the foreseeable future but administer Libya as a protectorate.
Lets say you’re right, what about the backlash? You can’t just go in and annix an entire country. Other Arab states would welcome it but the rest of the world would see it as an invasion of a sovereign country.
Just look at the backlash Russia received after annexing Crimea (which is rightfully theirs to begin with).
I’m all for Egypt getting more land and oil money but there’s too much barriers. We can barely contain the terrorists over here as is. Maybe in the future when Egypt is more stabilized but currently, its not at all possible.
Lol. Chico, I thought the same thing long ago when Qaddafi was murdered. Egypt should invade Libya for oil & stability. Does that sound familiar?
USA did that with Iraq & was a horrible failure. It is, today, the most reviled country on the planet.
Saddam himself, did so with Kuwait. He died brutally at the hands of his enemies.
We don’t need that Libyan oil if it comes mixed with blood.
Iraq has a population of 25 million. The Americans did not send enough troops to control that many people, made a mistake in not getting the Iraqi Army on its side. The Americans were also constrained in what they could do in Iraq by international media, they could not really terrorize the Iraqis into submission.
Egypt has more than enough troops to control the narrow coastal strip where almost all the Libyans live, and does not have any pretentions of freedom of the press, so there would be no bad reporting from Libya. Egyptians would also be a lot more skilled in getting the militias to join them or give up, either by buying them off or killing and torturing them mercilessly.
As far as the “backlash” goes, as long as order is restored, oil production increases, reconstruction contracts awarded to international companies, and the migrant boats stop sailing from Libya to Italy, the world will quiet down quickly.
Haha. I like you man. History is getting too boring.
However, I personally believe that Sisi should go on a grander roll than both Alexander and Tuthmosis. Both looked Eastward. Sisi should look towards the West for his military campaigns.
Now that is something I think all Egyptians can perhaps get behind. Muslims, Christians, Ikhwani’s, Salafis..
Let’s just end the misery for the planet.
If you mean Libya by “the west,” I agree. If you mean “the West,” no way, the Italian armed forces alone would squash Egypt like an ant. Technology and training rule.
Compare this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpZBfYKYHbA
with this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nntAzkNVgMI
It’s not the fault of the individual Egyptian soldier – they weren’t well trained by their leadership, which is more concerned with running businesses and the government than training to fight wars.
LOL Chico. Once again, you made me laugh.
I’ve seen that video on youtube before. It was made as a joke. Egyptian paratroopers are some of the most highly conditioned, finely tuned, precise jumpers in the world. Just check out any Egyptian military academy training or graduation video on youtube and you will see them jumping out of planes with the likes of the 22 Arab League flags hanging from their feet as they descend into the stadium. Really a site for the military enthusiast.
Remember the last time Italy tried to invade Egypt was disastrous. Even, for Germany it was disastrous and the end of Erwin Rommel’s career.
I assure you Egypt can quash Italy with just its navy. But we wouldn’t do that. We like Italy’s pizza (which ironically, in Italy, is an industry dominated by Egyptians) and her women too much.
As a former paratrooper myself, I know that bad exits are dangerous. Jumpers can get tangled in static lines, tumble and parachutes open incorrectly. So, no, it was not a joke.
I suggest you join this forum – http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2098
People there, such as myself love debates like this.
Thanks.