Dubai (UAE) (AFP) - Yemeni officials linked to the government supported by a military coalition led by Riyadh told Agence France-Presse on Saturday that Syria has begun deploying soldiers in Saudi Arabia and Yemen and intends to deploy more, to support government forces and the coalition in confronting the Iran-backed Houthis.

Published on: 07/11/2026 - 19:33

In Damascus, a Syrian diplomatic source denied sending forces to Yemen “at the present time,” but confirmed the existence of cooperation agreements in the military field with Saudi Arabia that include training and exchange of experiences.

During a visit by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday to the Kingdom, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Riyadh and Damascus concluded agreements and memorandums of understanding, some of which were in the field of "military cooperation."

Three military sources and an official in the Yemeni Ministry of Defense told AFP, requesting that their identities not be revealed, that hundreds of Syrian soldiers are now deployed on both sides of the Saudi-Yemeni border.

In turn, an official in the Yemeni Presidential Command Council told AFP, “It was agreed between the Syrian side and Saudi Arabia to send about 3,000 fighters to fight against the Houthis,” noting that this was agreed upon during Al-Shara’a’s last visit.

However, a Syrian diplomatic source denied to the official Syrian news agency SANA that forces were being sent to Yemen “at the present time.”

He said, "Talk about sending Syrian military forces to Yemen at the present time is baseless."

But he added, "The current military agreements with our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia fall within the framework of cooperation in the fields of training, exchange of expertise, and military consultations, in a way that serves the national interests of both countries."

Drone training

Saudi Arabia has been mobilizing international support to confront the Houthis and support the government in Yemen since the renewal of the conflict. Several parties confirmed that they would provide defensive protection for the Kingdom, without sending forces to participate in the fighting.

Within the framework of the “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement” signed by Riyadh, Ankara, and Islamabad in August, both Turkey and Pakistan announced in recent weeks that they would deploy “military forces and capabilities” to defend Saudi Arabia, emphasizing the defensive nature of this deployment.

In October, the Egyptian Parliament authorized President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to provide defensive support to Saudi Arabia if it requests it in light of the conflict in Yemen.

The source in the Yemeni Ministry of Defense indicated that the agreement between Syria and Saudi Arabia "includes sending more than 10,000, but the rest are in later stages."

Technical teams from the Syrian and Saudi Defense Ministries are currently working in Riyadh to finalize arrangements related to the participation of Syrian forces in operations against the Houthis, according to the source.

The military sources and the official in the Yemeni Ministry of Defense said that Syrian soldiers are training Yemeni government forces to use drones.

A Yemeni military source said, "It will be the responsibility of our Syrian brothers at the southern border (in southern Saudi Arabia on the border with Yemen) to train on the use of drones," based on the experience that the Syrian forces gained with this weapon during the battles that toppled the rule of President Bashar al-Assad in 2024.

27 dead in Yemen

After years of calm, the conflict in Yemen was renewed as of July, adding a new front to the war that has been raging in the Middle East since February after the American-Israeli attack on Iran.

During the past weeks, the Houthis expanded their field control in Yemen, taking over the areas of the West Coast and Bab al-Mandab, and intensified their attacks on civilian and oil installations in Saudi Arabia, announcing the imposition of a naval blockade on its ports. On the other hand, the coalition led by Riyadh intensified its air strikes on Houthi areas, in support of the Yemeni forces trying to regain the areas they lost.

Saudi raids on Sanaa Governorate resulted in 27 deaths, according to what the Houthi-run Saba Agency and Al-Masirah TV reported on Saturday.

Saba said, "Saudi enemy aircraft targeted citizens' homes in the village of Al-Shariya, resulting in the martyrdom of 27 citizens, most of whom were women and children, and the injury of 36 others."

The agency quoted a local source as saying, “Saudi enemy aircraft targeted with several raids six homes in the area, in addition to paramedics and the roads leading to the crime scene,” indicating that the process of retrieving the victims is continuing.

The Kingdom is subjected to almost daily attacks carried out with missiles and drones, the most violent of which was the attack on Riyadh Airport on October 10, which resulted in 13 deaths and about 300 wounded.

The Houthis announced on Saturday that they had targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and facilities belonging to the Aramco oil company, in addition to Saudi military concentrations in the Kingdom and Yemen.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarie said, “The Yemeni armed forces carried out six specific military operations,” one of which “targeted Khalid International Airport, oil tanks, and the distillation tower of Aramco” in Riyadh, in addition to a facility in the Dawadmi area near the capital. He also announced the targeting of "Saudi enemy concentrations" in Najran, in the south of the Kingdom, and in the Yemeni governorates of Al-Jawf and Ma'rib.

In early October, the Yemeni government, with support from Riyadh, began a counter-attack to reclaim areas controlled by the Houthis, especially those they seized after the resumption of fighting.

The United Nations says more than 1,600 people have been killed and more than 300,000 others displaced since renewed fighting in Yemen.

© 2026 AFP

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