Fourteen of the region's 22 Arab leaders are holding a key summit in the Egyptian resort along the Red Sea, Sharm el-Sheikh, in move to address the deepening crisis in Yemen and the Saudi-led airstrike campaign against the country's Houthi rebels that began earlier this week.
The talks come on the heels of a similar meeting between Saudi Arabia's King Salman, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and embattled Yemeni president, Abed Raboo Mansour Hadi, who fled Aden earlier this week after the Houthis pushed into the palace from which he was attempting to hold operations.
Saudi's King Salman said the airstrike campaign against the Shiite group would continue until it "achieves its goals for the Yemeni people to enjoy securitty." Meanwhile, in an apparent reference to Iran, Egypt's Sisi told Salman that the operation was "inevitable" because of foreign intervention in the country before.
Backed by Egypt and other Arab nations, Saudi's airstrike campaign in Yemen has roused regional tension with Iran, who are thought to be backing the Shiite Houthi rebels, and Lebanon's Shiite militant group, Hezbollah.
So far, the 10-country coalition has carried out three bombing missions on Houthi positions in northern Yemen and Sanaa, while the Shiite group has claimed to down one fighter jet and captured its Sudanese pilot.
