Is Egypt considering military intervention in Syria?
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has announced his support for the Syrian army, while the media have reported that Egypt has elite forces on Syrian soil.
CAIRO — “Supporting national armies” is the slogan Egypt is using to promote its policy on issues across the region, first and foremost in Syria.
This became evident when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced his country’s support for the Syrian army during a Nov. 22 TV interview with Portuguese news channel RTP. Two days later, on Nov. 24, Lebanese newspaper As-Safir published a report claiming that an Egyptian contingent of 18 helicopter pilots and four major generals had been stationed at the headquarters of the Syrian General Staff in Damascus for the past two months.
The article quoted Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem as saying on Nov. 20 that there had been “progress” in the way Egypt talks about Syria, and that the two governments’ views on the Syrian crisis were closely matched.
The As-Safir article sparked controversy over the presence of Egyptian soldiers on Syrian soil.
