Thousands Of Syrian Troops Deploy to Saudi Arabia and Yemen
Yemeni officials tell AFP that hundreds are already deployed on both sides of the border, as Riyadh rallies support against the Houthis and Houthi media report 22 dead in a strike near Sanaa
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Thousands of Syrian troops are set to deploy to Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and some are already on the ground, multiple Yemeni officials told AFP on Saturday, as Riyadh seeks international and regional support to repel the Houthis and bolster the government in Aden.
The report has not been confirmed by Damascus or Riyadh. It came the same day Houthi media said a Saudi strike killed 22 people in Yemen’s Sanaa province.
Three separate Yemeni military sources and a Yemeni defense official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, told AFP that hundreds of Syrian soldiers have been deployed to both sides of the shared border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia. A source in Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council and another in the defense ministry said thousands more are to be sent in the coming phase to help with operations against the Houthis in Yemen, according to AFP.
The Houthis’ Saba news agency and Al-Masirah TV said the toll from what they called a Saudi warplane “massacre” in the Al-Shariya area rose to 22 civilians, most of them children and women, with 30 wounded. The Houthi-run health ministry’s spokesman accused Saudi Arabia of the strike, according to AP, and Saba said aircraft hit paramedics with two strikes during rescue work. Saudi Arabia has not commented, while Yemen’s government forces accused the Houthis of firing a ballistic missile at the site. None of the claims has been independently verified. The United Nations says more than 1,600 people have been killed and more than 300,000 displaced since fighting resumed.
The Syrian report comes a day after Reuters reported that dozens of Syrian military personnel have traveled to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks to train Saudi and Yemeni units, citing two Syrian military sources and a senior US official.
A Syrian diplomat told Reuters that any talk of deploying troops is premature. Saudi Arabia reportedly asked Damascus for troops last month after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on October 6, when Axios reported that the sides were discussing 10,000 to 20,000 troops. Al-Sharaa’s media adviser, Ahmad Zaidan, denied that Riyadh had asked for troops, and a Syrian government account said Syria is focused on stability and not on opening new fronts.
Saudi Arabia is under pressure on the ground. The Houthis have moved to within about 50 miles of Aden and attacked Saudi oil sites and airports, and The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Saudi officials worry that sending more Saudi troops would be bloody and unpopular at home. The UAE withdrew from the anti-Houthi campaign last December, Pakistan has refused to join strikes inside Yemen, and Turkish and Pakistani support under the Mecca Pact has been described as mainly defensive. Analysts and US officials have warned that a Syrian combat role could draw Damascus into a wider conflict and anger Iran and its allies.