(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Saudi-led warplanes bombed Yemen's main international airport and a renegade troop base in the capital yesterday, as Arab leaders vowed to pummel Iranian-backed rebels until they surrender.
The raids on the country's main airport came just hours after UN workers were evacuated following deadly fighting that has sent tensions soaring between Tehran and other Middle East powers.
Yemen's President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi has urged his Arab allies to keep bombing until the Houthi rebels are defeated, branding them Iran's "puppet", AFP reported.
Meanwhile, Arab leaders agreed to form a joint military force and called on Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and keep the Middle East free of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi told reporters at a press conference later that an expert committee will be set up under the supervision of chiefs of staff of the military
forces of Arab League member-countries to study all aspects related to the idea of the joint military force and see how it could be implemented.
The Arab leaders also called on Israel and Iran to place all their nuclear facilities within comprehensive safeguards system of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The leaders said all efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Yemen should be exhausted and then effective action should be taken to deal with the Houthis' coup.
About terrorism, the leaders called on the international community to help Arab countries combat terrorism in an effective way. All sources of funding for the terror groups must be drained through coordinated global effort and terrorists should not be provided safe haven.
International armies and the judiciary globally should coordinate efforts with Arab states to fight terror, said a communiqué of the Arab League issued at the end of their two-day meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, reports QNA.
The international community should not target terror groups on a selective basis, the Arab leaders said. All terror groups have the same ideology. They exchange weapons, information and fighters. "The global community should also exchange intelligence with us to help us fight terrorists and their ideologies."
The leaders urged religious institutions in their countries to fight extremist ideologies.
Without naming Iran, the communiqué said: "We will do our best to remain united against foreign powers trying to destabilise our region geographically on the basis of religion or by fanning sectarian sentiments.
"We reaffirm our resolve to keep the Middle East free of nuclear weapons and call on Israel to sign the NPT. Israel and all Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, must place their nuclear facilities under the comprehensive safeguard system of IAEA."
About Palestine, the leaders said the cause of the Palestinians is central to Arab unity and the struggle will be on to fulfil the cause until all legitimate rights of the Palestinians are achieved within the framework of international resolutions and Arab peace initiatives.
The Arab leaders vowed to join ranks and look into taking pre-emptive and defensive arrangements to maintain Arab national security, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Al Arabi was quoted by QNA as saying. This is in line with the Arab League Charter, the Arab Joint Defence Treaty and international legitimacy, the declaration stressed.
It noted that the Arab Summit would focus on challenges to Arab national security, diagnosing their causes and taking measures to counteract them.
These challenges require joining efforts and alerting political, military, economic, cultural and social potentials to secure Arab territorial integrity and coexistence, it said.
The Arab leaders stressed pride of the Arab League in its 70th anniversary and their commitment to the goals of the founder leaders - consolidating ties among member states, coordinating political plans to achieve cooperation and maintaining their independence, sovereignty and joint heritage. "This is all embodied in the Arab League Charter of 1945. Our concept of Arab national security addresses its overall meaning and political, economic, military and social dimensions in terms of the Arab countries' ability to defend themselves and maintain their independence, sovereignty, rights and territorial integrity," they stressed.
They also noted that Arab national security has come under threats, targeting many member countries.
The declaration referred to the "conflict between the concept of a modern state and destructive projects that detract the idea of a national state and employ the ethnic, religious and sectarian variation in bloody conflicts, sponsored by external parties". It cited recent developments in Yemen and the slide the country almost fell into as a flagrant example of these challenges and stressed the need for "necessary measures to counter them".
This has prompted Arab and international effective moves in Yemen after all means to reach a peaceful solution to end the Houthi coup and restore legitimacy were exhausted.
The declaration refereed to the 'Al Hazm Storm' operation supporting legitimacy in Yemen, which will continue "until the Houthi militias withdraw and hand over their arms, finally restoring a "unified and a strong Yemen".
It stressed that Arab economic integration is an integral part of Arab national security system, including the completion of the Greater Arab Free Trade Zone and the achievement of food security as well as the initiative of Sudan in this regard, in addition to sustainable development and optimal utilisation of resources and narrowing the Arab food gap and future management of financial resources for achieving Arab water security.
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