A senior Houthi source said on the 7th that Saudi Arabia and Syria recently
agreed a military cooperation arrangement to deploy ground forces to the
Saudi–Yemen border and inside Yemen to support the Yemeni government. The source
said the deal was reached during a recent visit to Saudi Arabia by Syria
transitional president Ahmad Sharaa, but gave no deployment details and said no
Syrian combatants have yet been observed on Yemen’s front lines. Syrian officers
have reportedly visited Saudi Arabia to survey potential deployment sites,
front-line conditions and logistics routes. Saudi and Syria signed a
defense-cooperation agreement in Riyadh on the 4th; Syrian state media on the
7th quoted a Syrian foreign ministry source saying claims Syria would send
troops to Yemen lack basis and that current cooperation is limited to training,
experience-sharing and military advice focused on capacity building, which could
later develop into a joint defense agreement.
