Egypt confirms troops defend Saudi sites against Houthis

Egypt's foreign minister confirmed Tuesday night that Egyptian troops are stationed in Saudi Arabia at Riyadh's request, helping defend "sensitive sites" against Houthi attacks — the first public acknowledgement from a Cairo official that soldiers have been dispatched. Hundreds of Egyptian troops are on the ground with armour, anti-aircraft batteries and surface-to-surface missiles, according to The National, whose sources described a purely defensive mission.

"We already have a military presence there at the request of our brothers and sisters in Saudi Arabia to help, and we are strengthening that," Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told France24, adding that the troops first arrived "a few months ago after the attacks and aggressions on Saudi Arabia during the escalation with Iran." Saudi Arabia has taken missile and drone fire from the Iran-backed Houthis since last summer, including strikes on civilian airports and energy facilities. Houthi drones have approached Mecca and Medina, and a first threat against Mecca in September drew condemnation from most Muslim governments, though the Houthis deny planning to attack the holy cities. Abdelatty's reference to defending "holy sites" was an allusion to those incidents.

Egyptian air defence systems, Rafale fighters and warships were moved into Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea long before President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi requested parliamentary approval, Middle East Eye reported. The anti-aircraft kit includes the Skyguard AMOUN system, which pairs radar with 35mm cannons and medium-range surface-to-air missiles. The naval presence near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait may have helped persuade the Houthis not to attempt closing it.

Egypt belongs to the four-way "Regional 4" alliance with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, whose other members signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August; Cairo is reportedly weighing membership. Riyadh is assembling protection from regional partners one deployment at a time — Syrian fighters it once bankrolled in the civil war are already en route — after American weapons and bases failed to stop the Houthis. The Houthis, for their part, denounced the Egyptian parliamentary vote as a "declaration of war."

Abdelatty spoke from Paris, where he was attending a meeting of G7 foreign ministers. The G7 issued a statement Wednesday condemning Houthi attacks on targets in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, expressing solidarity with the government displaced from Sanaa in 2014, and calling on Iran to stop supplying the Houthis with money and weapons.

One of The National's sources described the Egyptian mandate: "The mission is for the Egyptian force to defend Saudi Arabia and not attack the Houthis, but it's also authorised to defend itself if attacked." What the help costs, and in what currency, went unmentioned.

The Egyptian parliament voted in late October to authorise the deployment, a week after el-Sisi requested the vote. By the foreign minister's account, the troops had been in place for months.