Roundup: Egypt joins Saudi-led anti-Houthi forces in Yemen

Egypt announced Thursday its participation by naval and air forces in the Saudi-led military operation against the Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen in response to the request of the Yemeni president, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

It is inevitable for Egypt to respond to the plea of the Yemeni people to restore stability in the turmoil-stricken country, the statement said.

The move is "based on Egypt's responsibility to preserve the Arab national security in the Gulf and Red Sea region on the Joint Arab Defense Treaty and the charter of the League of Arab States," according to the statement.

Yemen was hit by a wave of internal violence since the Shiite rebels ousted Yemeni President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi in February and forced him to flee the capital Sanaa to the southern seaside city of Aden.

A Saudi-led military coalition launched airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen earlier Thursday, a day after Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin called for an Arab military interference during his meetings with his Arab counterparts in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh ahead of an Arab summit.

Yassin said Thursday that the legitimate leadership of Yemen seeks a peaceful national dialogue after settlement of the situation in the conflict-stricken country, Egyptian official news agency reported.

"We seek peaceful dialogue after the situation in Yemen is settled following the military strikes launched by the coalition forces against Houthi-controlled sites to defend legitimacy," Yassin told reporters on the sidelines of Arab ministerial meetings in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Also in the day, Saudi official media said Yemeni President Hadi arrived in the Saudi Arabia's capital city of Riyadh. No further details were reported about the nature of the visit, as Hadi is supposed to head the delegation of his country to participate in the Arab League summit which will be held in Sharm el-Shiekh during March 28-29.

The Saudi-led operation in Yemen was approved by many Arab states, excluding Algeria, Syria and Iraq that rejected military intervention in the conflict-stricken country.

"We are generally against taking military actions to resolve problems in our Arab world, but we rather support political and peaceful solutions," Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Ja'afari told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on Thursday on the sidelines of the preparatory ministerial meetings in Sharm El-Sheikh.

"We bless any efforts to take the stalled situation in Yemen to a new direction and to bridge the gap between the Yemeni government and various political forces there," al-Ja'afari added, noting that the Saudi-led strike surprised his country.

Regionally, the move was supported by Turkey while rejected by the Houthis' main Shiite backer Iran and its Lebanese ally Hizbollah militant group.

It was also approved by the United States and some Western countries, including Britain and France, while China expressed its concern over the situation in Yemen and called for a peaceful settlement.

Late in the day, Arab League Chief Nabil al-Arabi said the Arab foreign ministers agreed to form an Arab united force for immediate action among Arab states when necessary.

"This is a great progress and a historical move in terms of the Arab joint work that an Arab united force will be established for the first time and work in the name of Arab states," Arabi said at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Arabi pointed out that he was assigned to invite Arab military chiefs of staff within one month for a meeting to form the united military force, adding that the move is based on the Joint Arab Defense Treaty signed in 1950.

The Arab League chief expressed earlier in the day his full support for the military operation led by Saudi Arabia and described it as a "compelling, limited operation."

For his part, the Egyptian foreign minister said the anticipated Arab united military force will work according to a framework to preserve the Arab national security.

Shukry added that there were no disagreements among the Arab foreign ministers regarding the formation of the Arab military bloc, stressing that it is meant to "act swiftly" against those who turn against legitimacy.

He said the situation in Yemen has been discussed in a special session held by the Arab foreign ministers earlier in the day, expressing their support for the Saudi-led military strikes in Yemen.

"The coalition's action is in support of the legitimacy in Yemen," Shukry said.

Meanwhile, he lamented that the Houthis resorted to military actions and rejected peaceful and political settlement, noting that the Saudi-led military coalition included most of the Gulf states as well as Egypt and Jordan.

Yemen has turned into a field of violence since the Shiite Houthi forces ousted Hadi in February, raising regional and international fears of a civil war in the chaotic country. Endit