Egypt postpones until next week vote on military support for Saudi Arabia

Egypt’s parliament has postponed for a week, until Oct. 26, a vote on authorizing military support to help defend Saudi Arabia if it requests assistance.

Egypt’s parliament decided to postpone the vote during Monday’s session, which followed a similar meeting held on Sunday, reported state-run daily Akhbar el-Yom.

The parliament had also adjourned Sunday’s session, deferring further deliberations until Monday.

The discussions came at the request of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who said on Saturday that Cairo would take all necessary measures to defend Saudi Arabia if it requests assistance.

Saudi Arabia has recently come under attack by Yemen’s Houthi group.

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized government. A UN-brokered truce in April 2022 had until recently brought years of relative calm.