Egypt's president has renewed calls for the creation of a joint Arab military force as it and other countries launch airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi made the comment Saturday while addressing a summit of Arab leaders in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. Saying that the crises in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have reached an unprecedented danger, Sisi said that he "backs calls for a unified Arab force" to confront regional security threats. Sisi added that there is an urgent need to filter the religious rhetoric of extremism, emphasizing the need to support the elected, legitimate Libyan government. The president also reiterated that Egypt's participation in the Saudi-led coalition was ‘imperative,' after meddling there by a foreign power – a thinly veiled reference to Iran, adding that it aims to preserve Yemen's unity. The campaign of airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition was in response to a power grab in the impoverished nation by Iranian-backed Shiite rebels known as the Houthis. Iran and the Houthis deny that Tehran arms the rebel movement. The 26th Arab League summit began on Saturday. Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah told a contingent of Arab leaders that the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen poses a threat on the region. "Rapid developments underway in Yemen pose a threat to our security," said al-Sabah during his opening speech, adding that Saudi Arabia and GCC countries had a right to defend their countries. Al-Sabah also emphasized on the need to find a solution for the conflict in Libya. He then renewed calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital. Yemen President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi was present along with King Salman of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab leaders. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is also scheduled to address the summit. President Hadi arrived to Egypt on Friday to attend the 26th Arab League summit, at which the crisis in Yemen will take center stage. State television broadcast footage showed Hadi arrival at the summit venue, the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, where he was greeted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The two-day summit is being held just a few days after a Saudi-led regional coalition launched a military campaign "Operation Decisive Storm" against the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels who have taken control of major cities in the West of Yemen. Hadi had arrived in Riyadh on Thursday the same day the air strikes were launched. Several heads of states, including Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir, have already arrived in Egypt and many others are expected to arrive today. The summit is also expected to focus on creating an Arab military force to fight against extremist militants or their rival Iran, a project foreign ministers have already signed a draft agreement in the Arab League meeting on Thursday. The ministers called on the leaders of the Arab League's 22-member nations to meet within a month to lay out the details of the military force such as budgeting. The chaos in Libya and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) will also be on top of this year's agenda.
