DHAKA: Arab foreign ministers agreed a draft resolution on Thursday to form a unified military force, the Arab League's secretary general said at a meeting in Egypt.
The agreement came after warplanes from Saudi Arabia and Arab allies struck Shi'ite Muslim rebels fighting to oust Yemen's president on Thursday, in a major gamble by the world's top oil exporter to check Iranian influence in its backyard without direct military backing from Washington.
"The Arab ... ministers agreed on adopting an important principle, which is forming the unified Arab military force," Nabil Elaraby told reporters after the meeting in the resort of Sharm El-Sheik.
"The task of the force will be rapid military intervention to deal with security threats to Arab nations," Elaraby added.
The draft resolution will be referred to the Arab leaders during their March 28-29 summit in Egypt.
Egyptian TV reported earlier that the ministers asked Elaraby to coordinate with Arab armies' chiefs of staff within one month to form the unified force.
Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi left his refuge in Aden under Saudi protection on Thursday and arrived in Saudi Arabia as Houthi rebels battled with forces still loyal to him on the outskirts of the southern port city.
The Houthi's have taken over much of the country in their campaign to oust Hadi.
The Saudi-led military intervention marked a major escalation of the Yemen crisis, in which Iran supports the Houthis, and Sunni Muslim monarchies in the Gulf back Hadi and his fellow Sunni loyalists in Yemen's south.
Iran denounced the surprise assault on the Houthis and demanded an immediate halt to Saudi-led military operations.
Tehran also made clear Saudi Arabia's deployment of a Sunni coalition against its Shi'ite enemies would complicate efforts to end a conflict that will only inflame the sectarian hatreds already fueling wars around the Middle East.
But Hadi's departure from Aden, where he had holed up since fleeing the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa in February, could also be a turning point.
Saudi state television channel Al Arabariya said Hadi had arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday. Saudi-owned al Arabiya television said he would go on to Sharm el-Sheikh to attend an Arab summit on Saturday.
Mohammed Marem, the director of Hadi's office, confirmed he would attend the Sharm meeting in person, dropping his original plan to address other Arab leaders via a closed-circuit television link.
"In light of the events and developments that have happened since dawn, he has decided to attend the summit and participate in person," Marem told Reuters.
But it was not certain if Hadi would be able to return to Aden.
On the city's northern outskirts, Houthis and allied troops fought gun battles with militiamen loyal to Hadi. Thirteen pro-Houthi fighters and three militiamen were killed.
Pro-Hadi fighters retook Aden airport, a day after it was captured by Houthi forces advancing on the city. The facility remained closed.
Source: Jpost.com
BDST: 1245 HRS, MAR 27, 2015
