Egypt: In Deep Waters

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In June 2020, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made a public visit to inspect the preparation of troops at the Sidi Barrani airbase in Egypt towards the Libyan border, announcing publicly that Egyptian troops were to be mobilised and deployed to Libya. For the first time in over 40 years, Egypt appeared to be organising and preparing its expeditionary forces for direct intervention into a military conflict, a neighbouring country at that. Egypt’s call to war came two weeks after President al-Sisi had called for a ceasefire in Libya. These high profile shifts between peace and war by the Egyptian President not only illustrate the fluid dynamics in Libya and their impact on Egypt, but Libya’s geo-political importance to Egypt and it’s willingness to overturn decades of established foreign policy as a result of developments across its border.

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