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Sisi Inaugurates Bernice Military Base at Event Attended by Khalid bin Salman, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince

Egypt's Bernice military base. (Twitter)
Egypt's Bernice military base. (Twitter)
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Sisi Inaugurates Bernice Military Base at Event Attended by Khalid bin Salman, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince

Egypt's Bernice military base. (Twitter)
Egypt's Bernice military base. (Twitter)

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated on Wednesday the Bernice military base on the Red Sea. The event was attended by Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.

The inauguration was also attended by Egyptian parliament Speaker Ali Abdul Aal, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli and Defense Minister Mohammed Zaki.

Described as the largest air and land base in the Middle East, Bernice covers an area of 150,000 acres and overlooks the Red Sea coast on Egypt’s southern border. It includes two tarmacs and a hangar to perform maintenance operations on jets, reported Egypt’s official news agency. It boasts many firing and training ranges for all weapons, in addition to a number of logistic and housing facilities. It comprises a naval base, air base, military hospital and a number of combat and administrative units.

The base has already witnessed a major military drill, Qadir 2020, that included the participation of Mistral-class carriers, submarines, combat ships, amphibious units and various fighters.

In a tweet, Sheikh Mohamed said: “I was happy to accompany the Egyptian President during the opening of the Berenice military base and civilian airport. Such achievements reflect Egypt's vision of all-round development and enhance its role in regional stability. We wish it more progress and prosperity.”

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Pro-Türkiye Syria Groups Reduce Presence in Kurdish Area, Says Official

US-backed Kurdish fighters stand on their vehicles, as they withdraw from two neighborhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP)
US-backed Kurdish fighters stand on their vehicles, as they withdraw from two neighborhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP)
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Pro-Türkiye Syria Groups Reduce Presence in Kurdish Area, Says Official

US-backed Kurdish fighters stand on their vehicles, as they withdraw from two neighborhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP)
US-backed Kurdish fighters stand on their vehicles, as they withdraw from two neighborhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP)

Pro-Türkiye Syrian groups have scaled down their military presence in an historically Kurdish-majority area of the country's north which they have controlled since 2018, a Syrian defense ministry official said on Tuesday.

The move follows an agreement signed last month between Syria's new authorities and Kurdish officials that provides for the return of displaced Kurds, including tens of thousands who fled the Afrin region in 2018.

The pro-Ankara groups have "reduced their military presence and checkpoints" in Afrin, in Aleppo province, the official told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Their presence has been "maintained in the region for now", said the official, adding that authorities wanted to station them in army posts but these had been a regular target of Israeli strikes.

After opposition forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, the new authorities announced the disbanding of all armed groups and their integration into the new army, a move that should include pro-Türkiye groups who control swathes of northern Syria.

Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies carried out an offensive from January to March 2018 targeting Kurdish fighters in the Afrin area.

The United Nations has estimated that half of the enclave's 320,000 inhabitants fled during the offensive.

Last month, the Kurdish administration that controls swathes of northern and northeastern Syria struck a deal to integrate its civil and military institutions into those of the central government.

Syria's new leadership has been seeking to unify the country since the December overthrow of Assad after more than 13 years of civil war.

This month, Kurdish fighters withdrew from two neighborhoods of Aleppo as part of the deal.

Syrian Kurdish official Bedran Kurd said on X that the Aleppo city agreement "represents the first phase of a broader plan aimed at ensuring the safe return of the people of Afrin".

The autonomous Kurdish-led administration's military force, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, played a key role in the recapture of the last territory held by the ISIS group in Syria in 2019.