Saudi Arabia has relied heavily on air power since its campaign against the Houthis in Yemen began more than two years ago. The kingdom has also sought help from other countries for the ground war—because Saudi Arabia cannot win wars on its own.
Saudi Arabia sought to substitute its lack of a large standing army by calling on Pakistan to provide soldiers, ships and warplanes. Pakistan refused. Egypt did join the Saudi coalition in Yemen but did not provide ground troops to help Riyadh decisively take the fight to the Houthis.
Egypt under Pres. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi has maintained close ties with the Saudis. Riyadh welcomed Sisi’s brutal crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and provided the necessary capital to prop up his regime. Sisi floated the idea of contributing 30-40,000 troops to the Yemen war, according to Al Arabiya. But Egyptian officials vehemently denied this claim, and relations between the two countries have frayed.
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