Syria Lines Up Thousands of Fighters for Yemen War Against Houthis

Syria is preparing to throw thousands of its fighters into the war against the Houthis, with deployments headed for both Yemen and Saudi Arabia, AFP reported Saturday, citing multiple Yemeni officials.

The boots aren't all hypothetical. According to three separate Yemeni military sources, hundreds of Syrian fighters are already deployed across both countries. A source tied to the Saudi-backed Yemeni presidency confirmed to AFP that fresh troops are on their way to join the fight against what he called the Houthi rebels.

The timing isn't random. Yemen's internationally recognized government has been shopping for outside muscle, recently asking the European Union to help blunt the Houthi threat and warning about alleged Iranian weapon shipments flowing to the group. Yemeni Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba made the pitch in Berlin, where he met Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Armin Laschet and pushed for tighter maritime security cooperation. Al-Zouba also condemned the Houthi siege of Taiz, while Laschet raised concerns about human rights abuses and the danger to Red Sea shipping.

While the diplomacy plays out, the shooting hasn't stopped. Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV said Saturday that Saudi airstrikes killed 11 people in the al-Shariyah area of Bani Hashish district, east of Sanaa, with women and children among the dead, according to a local health official. Al-Mayadeen reported casualties from a Saudi strike in the same district without giving a toll. The figure could not be independently verified.

In the north, Houthi-run Saba news agency reported four airstrikes on Maran district in Saada governorate, saying Saudi aircraft targeted a bulldozer working on the Al-Buqa'a road and that its driver survived. Saada sits on the Saudi border and has been a hotspot throughout the war. Those strikes also went unverified.

The fight is reaching Saudi airspace too. The Saudi-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile over Riyadh, with spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki announcing the intercept on X and blaming the Houthis. Houthi reports earlier claimed more than 30 civilians were killed or wounded in airstrikes on the Al-Hadhara market in Taiz governorate.