"The role of the Arab League should be redefined such that all collective treaties, including the Joint Defense Pact, are reactivated," said Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Kurbi in a statement posted on the website of the ruling General People's Congress (GPC).

The pact, which has remained just ink on paper, considers an attack against any league member to be directed at all Arab countries and calls for immediate Arab assistance to the state under attack.

Deploring "the absence of unified Arab action," Kurbi said Arab states were "merely awaiting the outcome of developments in Iraq," which has been the target of a US-British onslaught launched on March 20 with the aim of unseating President Saddam Hussein.

Yemen has come out strongly against the military campaign, and there have been massive anti-war demonstrations in the country.

However, authorities on Thursday detained dozens of Yemenis who had volunteered to fight alongside Iraqi forces as they tried to leave the country, according to sources at Sanaa airport.

SPACE.WIRE