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.
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 center shall be established in the city of Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations to fight terrorism and to develop the necessary programs 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 ten 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 followed:
“Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, 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, “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 organizations 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 organizations 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.
“Asked whether the new alliance will confront only the ISIS terrorist organization, the Deputy Crown Prince said: ‘No, but against any terrorist organization emerges before us. We will work and take actions to fight it.'”