Arab Leaders Agree to Form Joint Military Force

Arab leaders agreed on Sunday in principle to establish a joint military force to respond to security threats facing member nations. The announcement on the closing day of the Arab League summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh came amid an escalating crisis in Yemen. A multinational coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes there this week to weaken Shiite Houthi rebels who have been making a play for power — an advance that has forced Yemen's president to flee the country. Nabil al Araby, chairman of the Arab League, told the summit Sunday that those airstrikes will continue "until the Houthi militias withdraw and surrender their weapons."