The Egyptian parliament is scheduled to vote Monday on a proposal to deploy military forces outside the country’s borders, a move aimed at bolstering the defense of Saudi Arabia following a surge in Houthi ballistic missile and drone attacks. The vote follows a week-long delay designed to allow reticent lawmakers to deliberate on a move that carries significant historical and economic weight for Cairo.
While President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has emphasized that any potential deployment would be strictly defensive and limited to protecting Saudi territory, the prospect of sending troops toward the Yemeni conflict has revived memories of Egypt’s grueling military intervention in the 1960s. The current deliberation comes after Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was targeted earlier this month in a strike that killed 13 people, including one Egyptian national.
Egypt’s National Defence Council signaled its readiness on October 18 to provide “all necessary and possible support” to ensure the safety and stability of Saudi Arabia. However, the government has been careful to distinguish this support from direct aggression. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has called for a political solution to the Yemeni conflict, and el-Sisi reiterated on Wednesday that Cairo has no intention of launching offensive operations against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The historical precedent for such a move remains a sensitive subject in Egyptian political life. In 1962, President Gamal Abdel Nasser deployed thousands of Egyptian troops to North Yemen to support republican forces against Saudi-backed royalists. While the republicans eventually prevailed, the campaign was a bloody and costly stalemate for Cairo. Thousands of Egyptian soldiers were killed in the mountainous terrain of northwestern Yemen, and the heavy losses contributed to the military’s lack of readiness during the 1967 war with Israel.
Ahmad Dahshan, editor-in-chief of the Center of Arabic Eurasian Studies, noted the irony of the shifting alliances. In the 1960s, Egyptian troops died fighting a Saudi-backed insurgency; today, they may be deployed to protect Saudi borders against a different Yemeni faction. “The discussion this time may be taking place because there is a possibility of ground troops being deployed to protect the Saudi border against any attempted Houthi incursion,” Dahshan observed.
Economic considerations are also driving Cairo’s cautious stance. Egypt is heavily dependent on the Suez Canal for trade revenue, and any expansion of Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping would be catastrophic. El-Sisi has stated that Egypt has already lost an estimated $20 billion in potential revenue over the last few years due to regional instability, including disruptions in the Bab al-Mandeb strait and the Strait of Hormuz. For a net consumer of energy like Egypt, further disruptions to oil supplies could trigger a domestic economic crisis.
Should the deployment be approved, military assistance is expected to focus on technical and defensive roles. This could include operating air defense systems and interceptors to protect Saudi cities or guarding sensitive strategic sites. Other allies, including Turkey, Pakistan, France, and the United Kingdom, have already indicated a willingness to support Saudi Arabia in similar defensive capacities.
On the ground in Yemen, the situation has escalated since a Saudi-backed government counteroffensive began in early October. While Egypt was officially part of the 2015 coalition to restore the Yemeni government, its role was previously limited. Some observers suggest that the pro-government forces in Yemen do not necessarily need more manpower, but rather better resources. Mohammed al-Qadhi, an independent Yemeni analyst, noted that the Yemeni government has enough fighters but lacks weapons, economic support, and advanced command-and-control systems.
Despite the caution in Cairo, the historical bond between Egypt and Yemen remains a point of pride for many anti-Houthi Yemenis. Al-Qadhi noted that many still cherish Nasser’s 1962 support as vital to the birth of the Yemeni republic. However, he expressed skepticism that the Egyptian military would take on a similar high-stakes combat role in the current climate, suggesting that the memory of the 1960s remains the primary deterrent against deeper entanglement.
