Anti-terror campaign ratchets up

RIYADH -- A joint statement by the Arab coalition forces has announced the formation of an Islamic military alliance comprising 34 countries to fight against terrorism. The alliance will be led by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the participation of the UAE.

The Saudi Press Agency, SPA, reported that a joint operations centre will be established in the city of Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations to fight terrorism and to develop the necessary programmes and mechanisms for supporting these efforts. "The appropriate arrangements shall be developed for coordination with friendly peace-loving nations and international bodies for the sake of supporting international efforts to combat terrorism and to save international peace and security," it said.

The countries participating in the alliance alongside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Turkey, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Djibouti, Senegal, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Gabon, Guinea, Palestine, Comoros, Qatar, Cote d'Ivoire, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mali, Malaysia, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Yemen.

More than ten other Islamic countries have expressed their support for the alliance and will take the necessary measures in this regard, including Indonesia, according to SPA.

The statement said that the alliance affirmed the principles and objectives of the charter of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, IOC, which calls for member states to cooperate to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and rejects all justifications and excuses for terrorism.

The alliance is committed to the provisions contained in the United Nations' Charter, the Charter of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and other international conventions aimed at the eradication of terrorism, The alliance affirmed the right of states to self-defense in accordance with the purposes and principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations and on the basis of the provisions of the OIC Convention on Combating Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and the elimination of its objectives and its causes.