The New York Times reports Syria is weighing deployment of several thousand troops to Saudi Arabia and Yemen to assist Saudi efforts against Iran-backed Houthi forces. Syrian and Yemeni officials said Syrian military reconnaissance teams have in recent weeks surveyed deployment sites and coordinated with local forces; about 150 Syrian soldiers and commanders travelled last month with Saudi military personnel to Tamud in northeast Yemen near the Saudi border. Damascus has made no final decision.

The New York Times reports Syria is weighing deployment of several thousand troops to Saudi Arabia and Yemen to assist Saudi efforts against Iran-backed Houthi forces. Syrian and Yemeni officials said Syrian military reconnaissance teams have in recent weeks surveyed deployment sites and coordinated with local forces; about 150 Syrian soldiers and commanders travelled last month with Saudi military personnel to Tamud in northeast Yemen near the Saudi border. Damascus has made no final decision. Any deployment would likely operate under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed in August by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, with an ostensible mission to protect the Saudi border and prevent Houthi ground infiltration. Riyadh remains a major donor and investor in Syria; last week Saudi and Syrian authorities signed reconstruction and emergency-services deals worth over $400m. Syria’s military remains in post-war reorganisation and faces Israeli strikes and domestic extremist threats, so an overseas deployment could add to internal security pressures.