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Egypt Denies Military Presence in Syria | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. AP


Cairo- Egypt on Sunday denied Arab media reports claiming that it had a military presence in Syria, days after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expressed his support for the Syrian regime forces.

“These claims only exist in the imagination of those who promote them,” the foreign ministry said in the statement on Sunday.

“Egypt is committed to not intervening in other countries’ internal affairs,” the ministry’s Sunday statement said, adding that deploying any military personnel or equipment would have required public legal measures.

There are “constitutional and legal procedures that are necessary for Egypt to dispatch troops anywhere,” MoFA spokesman explained.

“Those procedures cannot be taken without the Egyptian people’s knowledge,” he added.

On Thursday, the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir quoted alleged informed sources in Syria claiming that there was a “unit of 14 pilots from Egyptian air forces” that arrived at Hama air force base.

The newspaper also said that four Egyptian commanders arrived in Damascus earlier this month, giving aid to Syrian government forces.

It added, however, that it was “unclear” whether they were taking part in any military operations.

According to Article 152 of the Egyptian constitution, the president cannot send the armed forces on combat missions outside state borders except after consultation with the National Defense Council and obtaining approval from the House of Representatives by a majority of two-thirds of its members.