Syria Denies Reported Thousands-Troop Yemen Deployment

Yemeni officials told AFP that Syria has agreed to send about 3,000 troops to support Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Iran-backed Houthis, with some personnel reportedly already deployed and a larger force possible later. Some sources say Syrian forces are operating on both sides of the Saudi-Yemeni border, including in drone operations, though details of the reported mission remain unconfirmed. Damascus has denied plans to send troops to Yemen, calling the reports baseless, and says its military cooperation with Saudi Arabia currently focuses on training, capability-building and sharing expertise. The conflicting accounts leave the scale and status of any deployment unclear.