Syria aids Saudi Arabia with military advice and training amid Houthi attacks, sources say

By Reuters Today, 6:42 pm

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Syria is aiding Riyadh with military advice and training as Saudi Arabia comes under attack by Yemen’s Houthis, and has sent a limited number of military personnel to the kingdom, two Syrian military sources and a senior US official say.

Saudi Arabia has been locked in worsening hostilities with the Iran-allied Houthis since July, when the Yemen war was reignited by the wider conflict in the Middle East, leading Riyadh to seek both defensive and offensive support from a range of allies.

The senior US official says advisers and training teams from Syria — where fighters became battle-hardened in years of war — have been traveling to Saudi Arabia to help train Saudi and Yemeni units inside the kingdom to improve their combat effectiveness.

The two Syrian sources, who have direct knowledge of the matter, say scores of military personnel had gone from Syria to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks. They say advisory and training work was involved, but that their mandate could be broader.

In response to a request for comment, a senior Syrian diplomat says “any suggestion of military deployments at this stage is premature,” and that Syria’s focus remained on internal security, protecting its borders and reconstruction.

The diplomat says a Syrian-Saudi defense cooperation deal signed on Wednesday “specifically includes advisory support, training and exchange of expertise.”

A senior Saudi official tells Reuters that ongoing expertise sharing with Syria was “mainly to restructure the Syrian forces … but that doesn’t mean also our Syrian partners don’t help us in their combat experience regarding fighting militias.”

Joint training exercises were underway and more were planned in both security and defense, the Saudi official adds in response to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia and Syria signed the defense pact on Wednesday during a visit to Riyadh by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, his second meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in less than a month.