clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Egyptian parliamentarian rebukes Saudi defence official

April 18, 2017 at 12:42 pm

An Egyptian parliamentarian has rebuked a Saudi defence ministry official for claiming that President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi had offered to send up to 40,000 ground troops to Yemen to join the Saudi coalition.

Mostafa Bakry, a prominent member of the ruling party, described allegations made by the Saudi defence ministry advisor, Major General Ahmed Asiri, as “groundless and shameful.”  He added that the Egyptian people would have been the “first to be informed” if President Al-Sisi had made such a decision.

Image of Saudi defence ministry advisor, Major General Ahmed Asiri [KoerberIP/Twitter]

Image of Saudi defence ministry advisor, Major General Ahmed Asiri [KoerberIP/Twitter]

On Sunday, General Asiri said in an interview with Al Arabiya TV that “Abdel Fattah al-Sisi offered the Saudi government and the coalition to send ground troops to Yemen”.

Commenting on the number of the Egyptian forces participating in the Arab coalition, Asiri said “the Egyptian army currently cooperates in the naval and air efforts, but were considering sending between 30,000 and 40,000 Egyptian soldiers as ground troops.”

The kingdom launched its military operation on Houthi targets in Yemen on 26th March 2015 in response to President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi’s request to intervene militarily in an effort to prevent the insurgents from taking complete control of Yemen.