Loyalists of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi retook Aden airport on Thursday after heavy clashes with forces allied to Houthi fighters opposed to his rule, a local official said.

Hadi’s men lost control of the southern city’s airport on Wednesday to troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, an ally of the Houthis and a still-powerful figure in Yemen despite his departure from office in 2011.

Arab leaders meet in Egypt over the weekend for an annual summit dominated by Cairo-led calls for a joint military force as Yemen and several other states teeter on the brink of collapse.

The long-floated idea has been revived by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to combat jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) group who have established a foothold in neighbouring Libya and control large parts of Iraq and Syria.

It has also been thrust into the spotlight by Yemen’s call for regional intervention to protect President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi from rebels who have seized the capital and advanced on his southern stronghold.

Saudi Arabia carried out air strikes against the Huthi rebels in Yemen on Wednesday, launching an operation by a regional coalition that includes five Gulf states and logistical and intelligence support from Washington.

Sisi, a former army chief elected after toppling his Islamist predecessor, has already ordered aerial attacks on jihadists in Libya following the beheading of Egyptian hostages in February.

He is also fighting IS militants in his country’s Sinai Peninsula.

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi, who had been tasked with overseeing a report on a joint military force to present to the leaders, told AFP that summit’s “major concern” should be the jihadist threat.

“The most important and what I hope will be the major concern of the summit is what to do about the unprecedented threats throughout the Arab word… (from) terrorist organisations,” he said.

The two-day summit is being held in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

‘Long way to go’

Sisi said in a recent interview that the proposal for a joint force was welcomed especially by Jordan, which might participate alongside Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

“Each of these countries would bring a different capability,” said Aaron Reese, the deputy research director at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.

“The Jordanians are well known for their special forces capability….the Egyptians of course have the most manpower and bases close to Libya.”

Prior to the Egyptian air strikes in February, the United Arab Emirates, which shares Cairo’s antipathy towards Islamists, had reportedly used Egyptian bases to launch its own air strikes in Libya.

Egypt had sought UN backing for intervention there, dismissing attempted peace talks between the rival governments in Libya as ineffective.

But Reese said shared regional interests may not be enough to overcome the many hurdles to forming a joint force.

“There is a long way to go from pledging support or even coordinating forces toward a truly joint force with a unified command,” he said.

Iran, and possibly the United States, might also take umbrage at such a force, added Mohamed al-Zayat, the head of the Cairo-based National Centre for Middle East Studies.

“Iran, which is part of the crisis in Syria (by backing President Bashar al-Assad) and gaining influence in Iraq and Yemen, could be provoked by such a force,” he said.

The Arab Republic of Egypt has announced its political and military support for the steps taken by the coalition in support of the legitimate government in Yemen.

A statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that Egypt’s support for this move comes in response to the coalition’s request, emanating from its historical responsibilities towards Arab national security and the security of the Arab Gulf region.

The statement also added that Egypt followed up with great concern over the last weeks the severe deterioration in the political and security situation in the brotherly Yemen, and what has been witnessed of attacks on the legitimate institutions and the spread of violence and terrorism, a matter which Egypt announced its full rejection of, and called for the full implementation of the outputs of the National Dialogue and respect for its legitimacy.

The statement explained that the Egyptian government is currently conducting coordination with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council for Arab States, on participation’s arrangements by Egyptian air and naval forces, and even a ground force, if necessary, in the framework of the alliance, in order to defend the security and stability of Yemen, preserve its territorial integrity and the maintenance of security of Arab countries.

Iranian state media said on Thursday the military operation by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies in Yemen was a “U.S.-backed aggression”.

State television broadcast footage of some of the damage, showing dozens of bodies and some wounded people, saying “many Yemeni citizens were killed in the U.S.-backed aggressions in Yemen”.

Iran denies providing money and training to the Shi’ite Houthi militia in Yemen as claimed by some Western and Yemeni officials.