Journalist Abdullah al-Senawy said he would confirm that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made the decision to intervene in Yemen, in response to a speech given by Sisi on Saturday upon his meeting with the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF).
In a phone call with a talk show aired on the privately-owned TV channel CBC on Saturday, Senawy said, “Sisi met with SCAF and will meet with the National Defense Council and then the government. That is the constitutional procedure taken ahead of dispatching troops outside the borders in light of the absence of a parliament.”
“The countdown is on for ground intervention. If we consider the general context of the incidents, we will send in ground troops. The Yemeni foreign minister requested a military intervention and then there was a meeting for chiefs of staff of the armed forces from countries taking part in the Arab alliance in Riyadh,” he added.
Egyptian naval and air forces had earlier intervened in Yemen to to halt the Shi'ite Houthi rebels' advance there.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
