A senior Syrian military delegation visited Saudi Arabia in recent days to prepare for sending up to 10,000 fighters to join the war against Yemen's Houthi rebels, according to a report Tuesday in the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar. The force could include thousands of foreign jihadist fighters who took part in Syria's civil war.
Al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with Hezbollah and the pro-Iranian axis, cited Yemeni intelligence sources.
According to the paper, the delegation arrived in Riyadh in the middle of last week and included two senior commanders of Syria's new army:
- Gen. Khaled Khattab commands the 82nd Division and formerly headed the group Ansar al-Tawhid.
- Brig. Gen. Haitham al-Ali, known as Abu Muslim, commands the Syrian army's Third Corps. He was formerly a commander in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group from which Syria's current leadership emerged.
The sources claimed Khattab spent four days in southern Saudi Arabia, touring sites in the Najran and Asir provinces near the Yemeni border with Saudi officers. The sites are reportedly intended to receive the incoming Syrian forces and prepare them for possible operations against the Houthis.
Meanwhile, al-Ali allegedly held meetings at Saudi Defense Ministry headquarters in Riyadh. According to the report, the talks covered the cost of transferring the 10,000 fighters, financial arrangements, benefits for participants and the operational missions they would be given. The sources said the delegation finalized the logistical preparations for the transfer.
The paper also claimed that several Egyptian military transport planes landed at Prince Sultan Air Base near Riyadh, as part of a Cairo decision to help Saudi Arabia in the Yemen campaign. That claim has also not been verified.
Earlier reports
This is not the first report of a possible Syrian deployment. Earlier this month, Axios reported, citing three U.S. officials, that Syria was considering sending thousands of troops to Yemen to support a Saudi-backed offensive. A source told Axios the force could number between 10,000 and 20,000. Washington was consulted and does not oppose the move in principle, and U.S. Central Command was consulted on how the troops could be deployed.
Reuters separately reported that Damascus was weighing military assistance to Riyadh. Previous reports said one unit under consideration was the 84th Division, stationed in southern Syria, which includes thousands of foreign Islamist fighters who joined rebel groups against Bashar al-Assad's regime. The Lebanese site Al-Modon has also reported that about 1,500 Syrian fighters have already been sent to Saudi Arabia, a claim that has not been officially confirmed.
Damascus denies
Syria has denied plans to join the war. "Syria's position is clear. We stand firmly alongside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in confronting threats targeting its security and stability," the Syrian Information Ministry said. "At the same time, Syria's policy in the region is based on stability, peace and cooperation, not on opening new fronts." Presidential adviser Ahmad Zaidan said reports that Riyadh had requested troops were baseless.
The reports come amid a major Saudi-backed ground offensive by Yemeni government forces, launched this month to retake Houthi-held territory, including the capital Sanaa and areas near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
A large Syrian deployment would mark a significant shift in the foreign and security policy of the new government in Damascus. For Riyadh, it would add combat-experienced ground forces as its troops and Yemeni allies struggle to defeat the Houthis. For Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, it would be a highly sensitive move. Axios noted that a force of Sunni fighters battling the Zaydi Shiite Houthis could inject a religious dimension into the war and deepen sectarian tensions across the region.
