Turkey and Pakistan pledge rapid troop deployment to Saudi Arabia

Turkey and Pakistan pledged a rapid deployment of troops to Saudi Arabia as the kingdom faces escalating attacks by Yemen's Houthis. The three countries announced the commitment Monday under a new mutual defense alliance; the announcement did not specify what role the troops would perform.

Representatives of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey held an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Monday under a joint defense agreement signed in August. The agreement commits them to help one another if attacked. Their joint statement noted recent strikes on Saudi Arabia without naming the Houthis.

The countries agreed to begin implementing their collective defense commitments immediately and take the measures needed to provide the agreed military forces and capabilities for rapid deployment. Their statement left the troops' intended role in Saudi Arabia unspecified.

The announcement coincided with loud explosions in northern Riyadh. A spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep concern about the escalation in fighting and condemned continuing Houthi attacks across the border into Saudi Arabia.

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Main topicHouthis →

The Houthis emerged as a movement in Sa'dah in northern Yemen. Through successive confrontations with Ali Abdullah Saleh's government, they developed from a northern armed challenge into a political and military force that expanded beyond its original stronghold.

Historical background on the Houthis helps readers understand the actor named in the reported attacks and the Saudi-Houthi confrontation behind the deployment pledge. These background propositions do not establish the article's latest attacks or deployment commitments.

G7 nations called on Yemen's Houthis on Tuesday, September 22, to halt strikes on Saudi Arabia. The appeal expressed solidarity with Riyadh as the Tehran-backed fighters added another threat to the Middle East war.

The leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States issued a statement calling for the Houthis to stop all military actions immediately.

Yemen's war began in 2014 when the Houthis captured the capital, Sanaa. Fighting had been largely frozen since 2022 before resuming in July.

The Houthis have attacked facilities belonging to Saudi oil company Aramco in the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Riyadh says the East-West Pipeline, an important crude export route, has also closed following drone attacks launched from Iraq.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement last month. The agreement commits the three countries to mutual defense if any one of them is attacked.

G7 urges Houthis to halt strikes on Saudi Arabia

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