(VOVworld) – The Arab League will consider setting up a defense unit to battle the spread of IS at its annual summit later this month, an official said on Tuesday.

An Arab foreign ministers meeting at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015 (Photo: AP)

Deputy chief Ahmed Ben Helli told reporters that the March 28-29 meeting in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh will discuss an Egyptian initiative to create a "unified Arab force." Mr. Helli said such forces should be ready and present so that they could symbolically show that the Arab countries have both deterrent and peacekeeping forces who could step in during times of conflict. The unit would be tasked with "confronting threats that undermine the stability of the countries of the region, particularly the rise of terrorism".