Is Saudi Arabia recruiting Syrian fighters to fight the Houthis?

Saudi Arabia has transferred hundreds of Syrian fighters to its southern border for possible deployment against Yemen's Houthis, according to a Lebanese media report, although experts speaking to The New Arab have cast doubt on whether any such deployment has yet taken place.

Lebanon's Al-Akhbar reported this week that hundreds of Syrian fighters had recently arrived in southern Saudi Arabia, including men who took part in the "Deterrence of Aggression" offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The report comes as Saudi Arabia faces renewed pressure from the Houthis, who have made significant territorial advances in Yemen and launched attacks on Saudi territory.

There has so far been no confirmation from either Riyadh or Damascus that Syrian fighters have been deployed, while several pieces of purported evidence circulating online have been found to be false or misrepresented.

Maysaa Shuja Al-Deen, a senior researcher at the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies, told The New Arab that she had independently heard of discussions within Saudi circles about bringing Syrian fighters into the conflict, but said she was not aware of the proposal having been put into action.

"I heard that the Saudis are thinking about that, but they haven't brought Syrians. They haven't done anything in practice," Shuja Al-Deen said.

Aron Lund, a Middle East analyst with the Swedish Defense Research Agency, told The New Arab that the Al-Akhbar report seems "improbable and overblown", warning that claims of foreign extremist involvement are a "propaganda classic" in regional conflicts.

However, Lund said the possibility could not be entirely dismissed, noting that Syrian mercenaries were previously deployed to Libya and Saudi Arabia had used foreign troops in Yemen.

There was therefore potentially "some little fire behind the smoke", he said, such as Syrian trainers or drone experts, but stressed that this remained speculation in the absence of tangible evidence

Shuja Al-Deen said numerous proposals were circulating as Riyadh considers how to respond to the deteriorating position of forces opposed to the Houthis, including discussions in some Saudi and Western circles about encouraging the UAE to return to a greater role in Yemen.

"There are many talks and discussions and suggestions here and there," she said.

Would Syrian fighters change the war?

Shuja Al-Deen said she had also specifically heard discussion of bringing Salafi or "jihadi" fighters from Syria to Yemen, although she strongly questioned the military logic of the proposal.

"As I told you, there are many talks and discussions here and there, and one of them, as I heard, is that they are going to bring some Salafi or jihadi fighters from Syria," she said, describing the proposal as "the most silly idea for me".

She argued that the anti-Houthi camp's principal problem was not a shortage of fighters or weapons, but the fragmentation of the numerous Yemeni forces opposed to the group.

Yemen's mountainous geography would also present a very different battlefield for Syrian fighters accustomed to fighting in Syria, she said, while the anti-Houthi camp already contains substantial numbers of experienced Yemeni fighters, including Salafi forces.

"I don't think it will help or do anything different, because the issue was not about the military capacity of these groups," Shuja Al-Deen said. "They were big troops. They were capable militarily. They have weapons."

Instead, she said recent battlefield setbacks had exposed longstanding divisions within the anti-Houthi camp.

"The big issue that led to this defeat was the lack of coordination and the absence of unified leadership," she said. "It's important that all of the soldiers of the different military factions receive one order from one leader, which has not happened."

Shuja Al-Deen said disagreements between commanders during recent fighting had left forces without a coherent chain of command.

"The soldiers were lost. There is no one order for everyone," she said. "It was a political issue regarding the division, or the lack of coordination, between the different groups that are fighting the Houthis."

She said that if Syrian fighters were ultimately deployed, she expected it to happen in coordination with Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is heavily dependent on Saudi Arabia.

"If it happens, definitely it will happen in coordination with the government," she said, describing the Yemeni government as "a puppet in the hands of the Saudis".

Would Damascus be involved?

The identity of any Syrians potentially being considered for deployment would be significant.

Syria's former opposition factions have undergone a complicated process of incorporation into the country's new armed forces since Assad's fall, meaning the recruitment of former factional fighters would not necessarily indicate an official deployment by Damascus.

There is currently no evidence that the Syrian government has authorised or facilitated the reported plan.

Damascus has, however, publicly backed Saudi Arabia amid the recent escalation. Syria's foreign ministry condemned Houthi attacks on the kingdom earlier this month and expressed solidarity with Riyadh and its right to take measures to protect its security.

The reports emerge as Saudi Arabia struggles to contain a renewed Houthi offensive that has dramatically altered the military picture in Yemen.

The Houthis have captured the strategic port city of Mocha and strengthened their position around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, including taking control of Perim and the Hanish Islands.

They have also stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting energy and military infrastructure, while Riyadh has reportedly sought greater US military assistance against the group.

Washington has resisted Saudi requests for direct US attacks on the Houthis, according to Reuters, while continuing to provide intelligence support.

The reported discussions over Syrian fighters come as Riyadh considers how to shore up an anti-Houthi camp that has suffered major battlefield setbacks despite possessing significant numbers of fighters and weapons.

Shuja Al-Deen said bringing in additional foreign fighters would not address what she identified as the central problem - the absence of unified political and military leadership among the Yemeni factions fighting the Houthis.