Cairo, March 27 (IANS/EFE): The secretary general of the Arab League, Nabil al-Arabi, announced on Thursday the league's full support of the coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia against the Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Al-Arabi justified Operation al-Hazm Storm, the name given to the joint offensive, as it occurs in the context of "a large Arab and regional alliance against certain targets of the Houthi coup, in response to a request from Yemeni President Abdo Rabu Mansour Hadi, who represents legitimacy".

The league secretary made his remarks in his opening speech at the meeting of Arab foreign ministers prior to the summit of heads of state, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Al-Arabi also said the military campaign was decided "after the failure of all attempts to rein the Houthi militia, and the series of measures taken against the constitutional legitimacy and popular will".

He recalled that the operation is based on the covenant of the Arab League and the resolutions regarding the Yemeni situation, as well as an article from the Common Defence Treaty, which stipulates that an attack on an Arab country is an attack on all other Arab states.