Syria: Thousands of troops to join Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthis, Yemeni sources say An agreement reached during President Ahmed al-Sharas' recent visit to Riyadh provides for the deployment of more than 10,000 Syrian fighters in total, in phases, Yemeni government and military sources said. About 3,000 soldiers will participate, and hundreds have already been deployed on both sides of the border. The Syrian forces on the Yemeni side will take command of the drone operations against the Houthis in the area. Technical teams from the Syrian and Saudi defense ministries are working in Riyadh on arrangements for the participation of Syrian forces in operations.