Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stressed Egypt’s full support to gulf states in a meeting with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on Saturday. Sisi said during the meeting that Egypt is moving within a “political framework to avoid all losses,” according to a presidential statement. He added that Arab national security will only be secured with the unity of all Arab countries. “Egypt will not abandon its brothers in the gulf; we will protect them if it is required,” Sisi said, adding that Yemen’s strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait is a matter of Egyptian and Arab national security. Saudi Arabia is carrying military operations in its conflict-torn neighbour Yemen as part of a coalition that includes 9 other countries, Egypt among them. The operations come in response to a request by Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who called for an Arab intervention in his country to halt the Shi’a Houthis’ advances. Egypt fears that the Houthis’ control over Bab al-Mandeb would affect navigation into the Suez Canal. The SCAF meeting followed the return of Egypt’s Chief of Staff Mahmoud Hegazy from Saudi Arabia, where he was attending a meeting…
