Deployment of Egyptian Forces in Bab al-Mandab

Egypt began on Saturday, a military deployment in Bab al-Mandab, as part of arrangements to establish a base in the most important sea strait off Yemen.

Qatar-funded media quoted on military sources in Islah factions as saying that an Egyptian unit has been deployed on Mayyun Island, located at the middle of Bab al-Mandab intersection and belonging to the Republic of Yemen.

The unit will undertake the installation of radars in preparation for a military base there.

The Egyptian forces had announced a few days ago that they had assumed command of the joint forces recently formed by the United States, through which they aim to control the maritime shipping lines surrounding Yemen, from the Red Sea in the west to the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea in the east, passing through the Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandab.

Egypt’s handover to the command of the joint unit in Bab al-Mandab came a few days after Saudi Arabia and China signed an agreement, on the sidelines of the Chinese President’s visit, to form new joint forces in Bab al-Mandab.

It is not yet clear whether pushing Egypt into the quagmire of Yemen is part of a Gulf plan to drown Cairo or an American attempt to widen the gap of differences between the major Arab countries? However, its coincidence with the Sudanese mobilizations is also an indication to arrangements for a new escalation.

The Yemeni activist, “Sarmad Badil”, on Sunday posted on his Twitter account a picture of an Egyptian military unit, which was deployed on the strategic Yemeni island of Mayon, located in the heart of the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The activist said in a tweet, “Egyptian military forces deployed on the Yemeni island of Mayon, the heart of Bab al-Mandab. You entered the danger zone, so do not blame anyone but yourselves. Sleeping in our yards is forbidden.”

The “Arabi 21” website quoted a military source as saying, “The Egyptian unit appears to be the vanguard of a military presence, the first in Yemeni territory, on Mayon Island, which mediates the Bab al-Mandab Strait, in the Red Sea.”

This comes, days after the Egyptian forces assumed command of the Joint Task Force (153) in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab, and the Gulf of Aden, which includes: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Jordan, and the United States of America.

The Egyptian military unit has built a radar system and communication devices for the Joint Maritime Forces – which took command in mid-December – on the Yemeni island located in one of the world’s important sea passage points for both energy shipments and commercial goods.

In the middle of this month, the Egyptian army announced in a statement that it assumed command of the Joint Task Force (153) in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab, and the Gulf of Aden, claiming that these tasks come due to terrorist activities in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden, according to his words.

It is noteworthy that Egypt had succumbed to Gulf pressure to deploy units in eastern of Yemen, which are currently supervising the training and rehabilitation of the giant factions affiliated with UAE.

READ: Sana’a Calls on Egypt to Distance from Any Hostile Actions Against Yemen

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