Arab leaders agree to form joint military force

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Arab leaders have agreed to form a joint military force, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced Sunday on the second and final day of the Arab League summit.

“The Arab leaders had decided to agree on the principle of a joint Arab military force,” Sisi said in a speech at the gathering in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Arab representatives would meet to study the creation of the force, said Sisi.

The decision was mostly aimed at fighting extremists who have overrun swathes of Iraq and Syria and won a foothold in Libya, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said ahead of the summit.

On Sunday, Arabi told the meeting that the region was threatened by a “destructive” force that threatened “ethnic and religious diversity”, in an apparent reference to the Islamic State militant group.