Why is Egypt so wary of getting involved in Yemen’s conflict?

Egyptian forces arrived successful Yemen successful the thousands, backing the country’s authorities successful a civilian warfare against rebels that threatened to overthrow it.

But this is not today’s warfare – this is 1962, and the Egyptians were supporting enactment forces successful North Yemen against the country’s royalists. The involution came aft Yemenis who were friendlier to the Arab nationalist ideology propagated by Egypt nether President Gamal Abdel Nasser led a gyration that overthrew Zaidi Imam Mohammad al-Badr – a theocratic monarch.

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Although the enactment broadside was yet palmy successful the warfare against the Saudi-backed royalists, Egyptian forces withdrew successful the aftermath of their decision successful the 1967 warfare against Israel, and aft besides suffering dense losses successful Yemen.

Suggestions of a caller subject involution by Egypt successful Yemen today, aft comments by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, are truthful bringing backmost memories of that play for Egyptians.

Following immoderate backlash against the proposition of nonstop subject intervention, el-Sisi emphasised connected Wednesday that immoderate subject deployment would beryllium focused connected defending Saudi Arabia, and would not impact immoderate nonstop aggression against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

And connected Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for a governmental solution to the conflict.

Saudi King Faisal and Egyptian President Nasser shingle hands successful Khartoum, Sudan, successful the beingness of Sudanese Prime Minister Muhammad Ahmad Mahgoub, successful the centre, August 31, 1967, aft an earlier gathering successful which the 2 agreed to a look to extremity their information successful the Yemen civilian warfare connected opposing sides [AP Photo]

What has the Egyptian authorities said it volition do?

After Saudi Arabia came nether much aggravated attacks from the Houthis, including a strike connected King Khalid international airport in Riyadh which killed 13 people, including 1 Egyptian, earlier this month, it appears that the kingdom expects enactment from its longtime allies, including Egypt.

Some countries, including Turkiye, Pakistan, France and the United Kingdom, person already deployed forces to Saudi Arabia successful antiaircraft operations oregon person indicated they are consenting to bash so.

Saudi Arabia has faced repeated Houthi ballistic rocket and drone attacks arsenic the warfare successful Yemen escalated implicit the past fewer months, peculiarly aft a Saudi-backed Yemeni authorities counteroffensive against the Houthis began successful aboriginal October. Saudi Arabia has supported a counteroffensive by forces allied to the internationally recognised government, with aerial raids against the Houthis.

Egypt’s National Defence Council said connected October 18 the state was acceptable to supply “all indispensable and imaginable enactment to Saudi Arabia to support its information and stability”.

While overmuch has been made of the anticipation of an Egyptian deployment, Cairo has repeatedly made it wide that it has nary volition of involving itself successful nonstop attacks against the Houthis.

But adjacent a antiaircraft combat ngo would impact the deployment of Egyptian forces extracurricular the country’s borders, truthful it requires support from the Egyptian parliament. A ballot is scheduled for Monday, aft a weeklong hold to let reticent lawmakers to deliberate connected this move.

Saudi-backed Yemeni authorities fighters thrust connected the backmost of a motortruck during battles against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis astatine the Jabal Han beforehand westbound of the metropolis of Taiz connected October 21, 2026 [AFP]

Why is Egypt wary of becoming progressive successful Yemen?

This apprehension implicit subject engagement successful Yemen is mostly related to the Egyptian government’s tendency to debar overseas subject entanglements and nonstop engagement successful the US-Israel warfare connected Iran and its allies.

Active information successful attacks against the Houthis could unfastened Egypt up to retaliation by the radical oregon Iran. The Houthis person already shown they are susceptible of pinpoint attacks connected captious civilian and subject targets successful Saudi Arabia.

An enlargement of Houthi attacks connected Red Sea shipping – some Egyptian and different – would besides beryllium highly damaging to Egypt’s economy, arsenic the state controls its bluish introduction point, the Suez Canal, and is heavy reliant connected this waterway for trade.

Fewer ships passing done the Red Sea means less fees paid to the Egyptian authorities for their transition done the Suez Canal. El-Sisi has said Egypt has already mislaid $20bn successful imaginable revenues implicit the past fewer years owed to determination instability, including previous attacks connected ships successful the Red Sea and the turmoil successful the Strait of Hormuz caused by the US-Israel warfare connected Iran.

Disruptions to vigor supplies via the Bab al-Mandeb now, which the Houthis efficaciously control, would apt pb to higher lipid prices and knock-on effects for nett consumers specified arsenic Egypt.

There is besides the humanities aspect. While Egypt tin reason that its involution successful Yemen successful the 1960s was an wide success, with the Republican broadside yet emerging victorious, the run successful mountainous northwestern Yemen was brutal. Thousands of Egyptian soldiers were killed successful the campaign, and this was blamed by immoderate for the Egyptian military’s deficiency of readiness successful confronting Israel successful the 1967 war.

“There is the representation that [Egypt] went to Yemen and faced forces supported by Saudi Arabia, and Egyptian troops were killed there,” said Ahmad Dahshan, the editor-in-chief of the Center of Arabic Eurasian Studies. “Then [the mentality is] that Egypt volition nonstop troops to Yemen erstwhile again, wherever they would besides beryllium killed, but this clip connected behalf of Saudi Arabia.”

Egyptian soldiers march during a parade marking Cyprus’s Independence Day successful Nicosia, October 1, 2026 [Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters]

How could Egypt enactment Saudi Arabia?

While Egypt has not elaborate what “defensive” subject assistance it could provide, judging by the enactment supplied by different countries aiding Saudi Arabia, this could see operating aerial defence instrumentality and interceptors to support the kingdom from missiles and drones oregon guarding delicate sites.

Even this could pb to the deaths of overseas soldiers, arsenic Houthi strikes person truthful acold targeted sites successful Saudi Arabia they comprehend to beryllium strategically important, including those that Egyptian unit could beryllium deployed to.

There is besides imaginable for naval assistance successful the Red Sea to support shipping, and forces stationed connected the Saudi-Yemeni borderline to reenforce information there, which person besides been targets.

“These troops would lone beryllium deployed, if they are deployed astatine all, to lend to the extortion of Saudi territory,” Dahshan said. “The treatment this clip whitethorn beryllium taking spot due to the fact that determination is simply a anticipation of crushed troops being deployed to support the Saudi borderline against immoderate attempted Houthi incursion.”

How important is overseas enactment for Yemen?

Egypt was officially portion of the Saudi-led conjugation to reconstruct the Yemeni authorities successful 2015, but played lone a constricted relation successful operations. However, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates person played decisive roles during the war, with different countries specified arsenic Sudan astatine times contributing fighters connected the ground.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE not lone conducted dense bombing campaigns against the Houthis, but besides had forces successful the state coordinating with the Yemeni subject and anti-Houthi groups. This exposed some countries to Houthi attacks.

This young Arab dances successful a nationalist quadrate successful Sanaa, Yemen, connected September 26, 1966, portion the set plays to observe the gyration connected September 26, 1962, which ended 11 centuries of monarchy successful Yemen [AP Photo]

But immoderate Yemenis connected the anti-Houthi broadside blasted overseas forces, successful peculiar the UAE, for undermining the independency of the Yemeni government. The UAE was allegedly a large protagonist of the Southern Transitional Council, and was yet forced retired of Yemen astatine the commencement of the twelvemonth pursuing a Saudi-backed Yemeni authorities propulsion to decision confederate secessionists.

While Saudi aerial enactment has been a immense vantage for Yemeni authorities forces implicit the Houthis, galore observers accidental that the pro-government broadside does not request further manpower connected the ground.

“The Yemeni authorities conscionable needs governmental enactment and economical support, and that has been the lawsuit since the warfare started,” said Mohammed al-Qadhi, an autarkic Yemeni governmental and struggle analyst. “The Yemeni authorities has capable fighters … it lacks weapons and economical support, arsenic good arsenic logistical and method support. It needs amended coordination and bid and power for the forces connected the ground.”

As for the imaginable of immoderate Egyptian involvement, al-Qadhi said galore Yemenis stay indebted to Egypt for the enactment it has provided the republic successful the past.

“Yemenis inactive cherish the Egyptian relation with pridefulness and respect … Without the Egyptian relation and Nasser’s support, the republic would not person existed,” al-Qadhi said. “The Houthis callback past and however the Egyptian enactment successful defending the republic was captious … though I disregard a akin relation for the Egyptian service today.”