JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia // Saudi King Abdullah Saturday ordered the dispatch of three fully-equipped field hospitals to Egypt, a day after backing Cairo in its deadly crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protesters.
The move is aimed at "standing by and supporting the brotherly Egyptian people, and to reduce the pressure on hospitals there," a Saudi official was quoted by SPA state news agency as saying.
The hospitals will come with a full staff of doctors and technicians, the unnamed official said.
King Abdullah pledged Friday the kingdom's support to Egypt's fight on "terrorism," as the army and security forces continued a bloody crackdown on supporters of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
Egypt has seen four days of bloodshed since Wednesday, when around 600 people were killed in clashes as police broke up protest camps of Morsi supporters.
The government said Saturday that 173 people had died in the past 24 hours alone.
Following Mr. Morsi's ouster by the army last month, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait pledged a combined $12 billion in aid to support Egypt's faltering economy.
