© AP Photo/ Mosa'ab Elshamy
Saudi Arabia has announced the creation of a 34-country 'Islamic coalition against terrorism'. Officially, Moscow says that it will need more detailed information on the coalition's composition and aims.
Unofficially, experts are already suggesting that Russia must stay as far away as possible from Riyadh's 'dangerous and disingenuous' endeavor.
On Tuesday, the Saudi Press Agency announced the formation of a 34-member 'Islamic coalition against terrorism', featuring a joint operations command center based Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations. The coalition's aims,
according to state media, will be "to protect the Islamic nation from the evils of all terrorist groups and organizations," on "the basis of the right of peoples to self-defense."
Besides Saudi Arabia, the alliance will include countries in the Gulf and the broader Middle East, including Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Yemen (where a Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out
a military operation against Houthi rebels), as well as the Palestinian National Authority (whose membership in the coalition is
under question), Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and Libya. Nearly two dozen other countries from across Africa and Asia, including Nigeria and Pakistan, are also expected to participate, with another 10 countries, including Indonesia, said to have expressed their support for the initiative.
Comment: Without the approval of the Syrian government, or the UN Security Council, the US-led coalition is operating illegally. Russia invited the West to join their anti-terror coalition (which was requested by the region's legitimate authorities) but the West instead continues their frenzied and genocidal invasion.
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