Image source: Getty Images
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called on the House of Representatives to grant him a mandate allowing military intervention to defend Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks, if Riyadh requests it.
Al-Sisi said that Egypt “will not stand idly by in the face of any threat to Saudi Arabia’s security,” stressing that any Egyptian military intervention will be “defensive, not offensive.”
The Egyptian National Defense Council announced its agreement to provide “all forms of support” to Saudi Arabia, while the House of Representatives postponed voting on the authorization until next week, after holding two closed sessions to discuss the request.
Egypt was previously involved in the Yemen war during the rule of the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser, but the nature of the intervention and its goals may have differed over the decades.
In 2015, Egypt participated in the military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, which intervened in Yemen in support of the internationally recognized government in confronting the Houthis with air and naval forces, including units that contributed to securing navigation in the Red Sea.
But the broader Egyptian military intervention in Yemen dates back to 1962, during the era of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, when Cairo sent ground forces to fight alongside the Yemeni Republicans, following a military coup that overthrew the rule of Imam Muhammad al-Badr Hamid al-Din, the last ruler of the Yemeni Mutawakkilite Kingdom, which ruled northern Yemen at the time.
The civil war in Yemen turned into a regional conflict, in which Egypt and Saudi Arabia stood on opposing sides, and continued for years, depleting the resources of both countries, especially Egypt, whose number of soldiers participating in the war reached tens of thousands.
However, the intervention proposed by Sisi today differs in its nature and declared goals from the experience of the 1960s. The nature or size of the potential military mission is not yet clear, and whether it will be limited to air and sea defense operations, or will include the deployment of ground forces.
Most read end
How did the Egyptian army’s experience in Yemen begin in 1962, what prompted Abdel Nasser to fight that war, and what were its most prominent repercussions?
September 26 Revolution
An in-depth explanation of the most prominent events and topics, to help you understand the most important variables around you and their impact on your life
Episodes
End podcast
The rule of the Mutawakkil Kingdom of Yemen began in 1918, after the withdrawal of Ottoman forces from northern Yemen, and continued until 1962.
During that period, the Kingdom witnessed several attempts to overthrow the rule of the Hamid al-Din family, most notably the coup in 1948, which ended with the assassination of Imam Yahya Hamid al-Din, before his son Ahmed succeeded in restoring power following a military counter-campaign.
In 1955, Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Yahya Al-Thulaya, who held a leadership position in the army in the city of Taiz, led a military coup against Imam Ahmed Hamid Al-Din, but it failed after a few days, and ended with the execution of Al-Thulaya.
Seven years later, the Yemeni Free Officers organization, which was inspired by the experience of the Free Officers in Egypt, succeeded in overthrowing the rule of Imam Muhammad al-Badr, the son of Imam Ahmed, on September 26, 1962.
The establishment of the Yemen Arab Republic was declared in northern Yemen, and the coup leader, Abdullah Al-Sallal, who was leading the Imam’s private guard, assumed the position of the first president of the republic.
At that time, southern Yemen was subject to British influence, as Aden was a British colony, and other areas in the south were subject to British protection. Relations between Britain and Egypt, under the leadership of Gamal Abdel Nasser, were very tense, especially after the nationalization of the Suez Canal and the tripartite aggression against Egypt in 1956.
Days after the coup, Egypt sent its forces to Yemen to support the Republicans and install the new regime, confronting the supporters of Imam Muhammad al-Badr, who sought to restore rule.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia, led by King Saud at the time, supported the royalists with money and weapons, so the conflict turned into a civil war that lasted for years, putting Egypt and Saudi Arabia on opposite sides.
Egypt increased the number of its forces in Yemen in stages between 1962 and 1967. Estimates vary regarding the number of Egyptian soldiers who participated in the war, but some references indicate that their number at one stage reached about 70,000 soldiers.
Ironically, Iran, which today supports the Houthis against Saudi Arabia, was providing support to the Yemeni royalists allied with Riyadh against the Republicans during the Shah’s era.
The Egyptian role at that time was not limited to supporting the republicans in northern Yemen, but rather extended to supporting the revolutionaries against British colonialism in the south, in what was known as the “October 14 Revolution,” which broke out in 1963 with the aim of ending the British presence.
In April 1964, President Gamal Abdel Nasser visited Yemen, and moved from Sanaa to Taiz, near the south, where he delivered a speech to crowds that welcomed him, in which he called for an end to the British presence in southern Yemen, and announced his support for the liberation revolution.
Withdrawal from Yemen
Egypt's defeat in the June 1967 war, known as the Naksa, left a major impact on the Egyptian army, and prompted Cairo to gradually withdraw its forces from Yemen, until its withdrawal was completed by the end of the same year.
The success of the Republicans in breaking the siege imposed by the royal forces on Sana'a in February 1968 constituted a turning point in the course of the war, which ended with a political settlement in 1970 that established republican rule in northern Yemen.
As for South Yemen, Britain ended its colonial presence on November 30, 1967, after years of armed conflict against it.
But the military intervention in Yemen cost the Egyptian army significant human losses, and estimates vary regarding the number of deaths and injuries during the years of war.
In an audio recording attributed to a meeting held by President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1970, a copy of which was published on a website called “Arab Defense,” the Egyptian Minister of War at the time, General Mohamed Fawzi, reviewed the Egyptian army’s losses in the Yemen war between 1962 and 1967.
According to the recording, Fawzi stated that 3,170 officers and soldiers were killed during the war, and 10,686 others from various military ranks were injured.
Some historians and analysts believe that the depletion of Egyptian forces in the Yemen war was one of the factors that affected the readiness of the Egyptian army before the June 1967 war, and contributed to its defeat against Israel, although the extent of this effect is still a matter of debate among researchers.
content end
It is not clear what form and size of military support Egypt will provide to Saudi Arabia in the face of Houthi attacks.
But BBC Arabic spoke to experts who unanimously ruled out repeating the ancient Egyptian experience in Yemen, or sending forces to its territory.
They pointed to Egypt's ability to provide support in various forms, from harnessing the capabilities of the air and naval forces to exchanging intelligence information and logistical, training and technological support.
The recent escalation in Yemen, and the Houthi mobilization towards controlling Bab al-Mandab, has increased concerns about the security of maritime navigation in the strait.
Any closure or security disturbance in the Bab al-Mandab Strait will affect the movement of commercial and oil ships heading to the Suez Canal, which is a vital economic artery for Egypt.
Find out more
Short clips
End of short clips
