Egyptian army carries out military exercise on Western borders

The Egyptian military conducted large military exercises with live ammunition yesterday on the border with neighbouring Libya, in what is being seen as Cairo attempting to flex its muscles in an uncertain and unstable region.

The Egyptian Ministry of Defence said in a post on its website that the army chief of staff and defence minister, General Sidqi Subhi, attended the major live-fire exercises, including naval war games, on the country’s western borders with Libya.

The naval exercises included tactical drills and practicing engagement manoeuvres against hostile naval vessels.

Egyptian naval forces also carried out land and sea security and drilled counterterrorism operations in cooperation with various other branches of the armed forces.

During the past two years, several Egyptian citizens were kidnapped in Libya which entered a state of chaos following the ousting of the late president, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in a popular rising in 2011.