Saudi
Arabia, on Tuesday, announced the formation of a 34-state Islamic
military coalition to combat terrorism, according to a joint statement
published on state news agency, SPA. Nigeria was named as a member of
the Islamic alliance by the kingdom "The countries here mentioned have
decided on the formation of a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia to
fight terrorism, with a joint operations center based in Riyadh to
coordinate and support military operations," the statement said. A long
list of Arab countries such as Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates,
together with Islamic countries Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan and Gulf Arab
and African states were mentioned. The full statement reads: “The
countries whose names are listed in this statement have decided to form a
military alliance to fight against terrorism led by the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia and a joint operations centre shall 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. “The
countries participating in the alliance along with the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia are: Jordan, United Arab Emirates, 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, and Yemen. “More than 10 other Islamic
countries have expressed their support for this alliance and will take
the necessary measures in this regard, including Indonesia. ”Those
additional 10 Islamic countries might include Iran, Syria and Iraq,
which are absent from the initial list." Another announcement later
followed: “Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Crown
Prince, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defence, confirmed that
the announcement of the formation of an Islamic military alliance to
fight terrorism emanates from the Islamic world’s keenness to fight this
disease and be a partner of the world, as a group of countries, in the
fight against this disease. “He said in a press conference at King
Salman Air Base in Riyadh yesterday evening following the announcement
of the joint statement on the formation of an Islamic military alliance
to fight terrorism based in Riyadh that 'The alliance includes a group
of Islamic states that make up the majority of the Islamic world, and
this emanates from the keenness of the Muslim world to fight this
disease which affected the Islamic world first before the international
community as a whole.' “He added: ‘Today, every Islamic country is
fighting terrorism individually. The coordination of efforts is very
important; and through this room, means and efforts will be developed
for fighting terrorism all over the Islamic world. “He went on to say:
‘We will confine terrorist organisations whatever might be their
classification. Of course, in connection with operations in Syria and
Iraq, we cannot carry out these operations but only through coordination
with the legitimacy in both of them and the international community.’
“He also asserted that the Islamic military alliance will coordinate
with globally important countries and international organisations in
this action, pointing out that the alliance will fight terrorism at
military, intellectual and media levels, in addition to the remarkable
security effort currently existing." Saudi Arabia's regional rival,
Shiite Iran, is not part of the coalition. The two support opposite
sides of in the wars raging in Syria and Yemen. Saudi Arabia is
currently leading a military intervention in Yemen against rebels, known
as Houthis, and is part of the US-led coalition bombing ISIS in Iraq
and Syria. Turkey, the only country in the alliance that is also a NATO
member, welcomed the new coalition. Turkish Prime Minister, Ahmet
Davutoglu, called it the "best response to those who are trying to
associate terror and Islam." Other Gulf Arab countries such as Kuwait,
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are also in the coalition, though
notably absent from the list is Oman, a neighboUr of Saudi Arabia. In
recent years, Oman has maintained a neutral role and has emerged as a
mediator in regional conflicts, serving as a conduit from the Gulf Arabs
to Iran. Iraq and Syria, whose forces are battling to regain territory
taken by ISIS and whose governments are allied with Iran, are not in the
coalition. A Jordanian government spokesman confirmed that the
Hashemite kingdom is part of the coalition. Spokesman Mohammed Momani
would not comment specifically on the alliance but said that "Jordan is
always ready and actively participates in any effort to fight
terrorism." A Lebanese official confirmed to The Associated Press that
his nation was also part of the 34-nation coalition. Lebanon has seen
frequent spillovers from Syria's civil war next door, as well as
sectarian clashes and militant attacks. "Lebanon is fighting a daily war
against terrorism ... Lebanon cannot but be part of the alliance that
is combating terrorism," said the official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorised to give official statements.
Benin, while it does not have a majority Muslim population, is another
member of this new counterterrorism coalition. All the group's members
are also part of the larger Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which
is headquartered in Saudi Arabia.
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