Army chiefs agree pan-Arab force membership optional

AMMAN — Arab army chiefs on Sunday decided at the conclusion of their second meeting to keep participation in a proposed joint Arab force optional, saying any intervention in the internal issues of any Arab country should be made upon its own request, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported from Cairo.

The top brass differed with regard to the location of the force's headquarters, mechanism of summoning the troops and how to execute its missions.

Moreover, the army chiefs decided to form a higher council of defence that includes defence and foreign ministers from the countries participating in the force, to meet annually in the country hosting the headquarters. 

Chiefs of staff will have the right to summon experts to support the force as each member country will contribute ground, sea and air troops based on its abilities. 

Joint training will be planned but troops will be kept within the borders of their countries to be urgently summoned when a country requests intervention. 

The draft plans will be forwarded to Arab countries to prepare their feedback and send to the general secretariat of the Arab League within two weeks, to be discussed by another meeting of the chiefs of staff.

The final version will be presented to Egypt as the current president of the Arab summit to consult with Arab leaders over it.

Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Hegazy headed the second meeting of the Arab army chiefs in implementation of the decision taken during the 26th Arab Summit held at Sharm El Sheikh earlier this year.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben represented Jordan at the meeting.