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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 March 1999 Issue No. 420 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 March 1999 Issue No. 420
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Special Features Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A HERO REMEMBERED
Thirty years have passed since Lt. Gen. Abdel-Moneim Riyad, one of Egypt's bravest soldiers, was martyred. On 9 March 1969, Riyad was hit by an Israeli shell as he inspected an Egyptian position near Ismailia, only 250 metres away from Israeli lines. Riyad belonged to a new generation of military commanders appointed by then President Gamal Abdel Nasser following the 1967 defeat -- men who left an indelible mark on Egypt's history. There is hardly a city or village in Egypt that does not have a street or square named after him.Riyad had taken part in the 1948, 1956 and 1967 wars, and had often reiterated that high-calibre, qualified leadership, and not courage alone, was needed to win wars. During the 1967 war, he was commander-in-chief of the Jordanian front, and from his position there was able to detect Israeli warplanes heading for a blitzkrieg strike against Egypt on 5 June. But his warning to the Egyptian command, known as the Ajloun message, fell on deaf ears in Cairo.
On 11 June 1967, Nasser appointed Riyad as chief-of-staff of the armed forces and, in this capacity, he made plans for crossing the Suez Canal and destruction of the Bar-Lev line of fortifications. He began putting these plans into effect on 8 March 1969, triggering what came to be known as the war of attrition.
His visit to the fatal site near Ismailia was his 12th, and last. At 3 pm, Riyad and his company were surprised by a burst of intense artillery fire. He immediately ordered his soldiers to fire back, and stood among them directing the counter-strike. But, unfortunately, he was killed.
