Syria weighs sending troops to help Saudi Arabia fight the Houthis

Syria is weighing whether to send its soldiers to fight for Saudi Arabia against the Houthis, a remarkable turn for a country still digging out of its own civil war.

A U.S. official and a Syrian military official briefed on the matter told Reuters that Damascus is carefully considering the request. The options on the table include defensive aid to shield the kingdom from missile and drone attacks, or deploying Syrian forces in an offensive capacity to fight alongside Saudi backed Yemeni troops against the Iran backed Houthis. The U.S. official said Saudi Arabia explicitly asked Syria to deploy forces.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed the matter in person with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a public visit to Riyadh on Tuesday. A Syrian diplomat said Damascus stood firmly with Saudi Arabia against the Houthi attacks but that the government's primary focus remained domestic recovery from the civil war, adding that any military cooperation would go exclusively through official channels and bilateral agreements.

Riyadh is asking everyone. Saudi Arabia has been requesting assistance from the United States, Europe and across the Middle East for both defensive and offensive support in the renewed war, which follows weeks of Houthi missile and drone strikes on the kingdom. Pakistan has confirmed its forces are already stationed in the kingdom, and Turkey is also being courted.

The war is being fought on the ground by a patchwork of Yemeni government forces with Saudi air support, and they have made only limited advances since the campaign began Monday. Syrian troops entering the fight would deepen an already regional war, and, as Reuters noted, could sharpen tensions with Syria's neighbors. For a government that took power less than two years ago, it would also be the first major foreign deployment of the new Syrian army.