For 1st Time..Mubarak Recounts October War Memories

Former Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak shared memories about the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, for the first time since his ouster in February 2011.

Mubarak, 91, was the commander of the Egyptian air forces during the war.

In a 25-minute video, uploaded on Youtube channel called “Mubarak Archives”, the former president said that the late President Anwar Sadat was the one who took the decision to go to war, noting that he was a very brave and courageous man.

“The Syrians had agreed on the war, and all troops were ready, waiting for the zero hour,” he continued, praising the Egyptian Air Force’s key role during the war.

Moreover, Mubarak spoke about the June 1967 Six-Day War, which he believed was not actually a war.

“We were hit without prior notice and without having a plan,” he said, pointing out that he noticed the entry of Israeli troops to Sinai on June 3, but the pision’s had no idea who was getting in and out.

“It was a black day..and the people were against us,” he continued.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyChz6zAskc[/embed]

In addition, the former Egypt air forces’ commander recalled details of the Mansoura air battle, which took place on 14 October 1973 and lasted for nearly 53 minutes.

“The Egyptian forces managed to repel the attack of the Israelis, shooting down 17 Israeli aircraft, in one of the biggest and longest air-to-air battles ever, involving almost 200 planes,” Mubarak said. “Hence, I changed Egypt’s Air forces day from 2 November to 14 October to commemorate the battle.”

Noteworthy, Mubarak’s son Alaa announced through his official account on Twitter that his father will share some memories of the October war memories on Tuesday at 8.30 pm.

Mubarak was deposed following an uprising in 2011 after almost 30 years as Egyptian President. He was last seen publicly on December 26, 2018, when he testified at the trial of his ousted successor, Mohammed Morsi, and others.

The video, which is in Arabic, gained more than 353,000 views on YouTube in only 24-hours.