Pakistan confirms it has troops in Saudi as conflict with Yemen’s Houthi rebels escalates

By Ivan Watson, Sophia Saifi, Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN

Islamabad (CNN) — Key Saudi ally Pakistan has confirmed it has troops stationed in the Gulf kingdom, as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen continue cross-border attacks with deadly assaults on airports.

“The forces of Pakistan are already there. That I can share with you,” Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told CNN in an exclusive interview on Wednesday, without specifying how many or their capabilities, saying those details were classified.

The confirmation from Chaudhry, the chief of the Pakistani military’s media wing, came just days after the two nations and Turkey agreed to the rapid deployment of the forces, as part of a newly minted mutual defense treaty.

Over the past two days, the Houthis have killed three people in attacks on Saudi’s Abha International Airport, near the Yemen border, and King Khalid International Airport, in the capital Riyadh, Saudi officials said.

The attacks underscore how the conflict is increasingly affecting Saudi territory as Riyadh deepens its support for the Yemeni government’s military campaign.

The targeting of the airports prompted an updated security alert from the US Mission in Saudi Arabia, warning American citizens the conflict “has the potential to escalate.”

The Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen including the capital, Sanaa, have been at war with the internationally recognized Yemeni government and a Saudi-led coalition since 2015.

The conflict flared up in July, shortly after the US-Iran ceasefire unravelled, with Houthi missile attacks on Saudi oil facilities and tankers in an expansion of the Middle East war. Riyadh has responded with airstrikes in support of Yemeni government forces.

In recent days, Yemeni government forces have claimed advances near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, which the Houthis claimed effective control of last month. The Houthis have responded with missile and drone attacks against targets inside Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan’s troops in Saudi

The escalation has coincided with Saudi moves to strengthen defense cooperation with regional military heavyweights Turkey, a NATO member, and nuclear-armed Pakistan The trio recently signed a pact with NATO-style collective defense provisions, often referred to as the Mecca Alliance.

The deployment of Pakistani forces had “not come out of a vacuum” Chaudhry, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations, told CNN. Pakistan has had a military presence in Saudi Arabia for decades, he said.

Pakistan’s commitment to Saudi’s security was “absolute,” Chaudhry said. He described the alliance as a mechanism for collective defense under which an attack on one member would be considered an attack on all.

But he would not be drawn on whether Pakistani troops would be involved in any operations across the border in Yemen. “Whenever there is a military conflict, no participating country starts disclosing how and where it is going to employ its forces,” he said, adding the any involvement would be “defensive in nature.”

“The objective of this alliance is not to start labelling enemies, enemies, enemies, friends, friends, friends. The objective is the defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia… That will be done,” said Chaudhry.

In a joint statement following an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Monday, the three countries said they would move immediately to implement collective defense commitments and ensure the rapid deployment of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia.

Chaudhry said the collective security agreement would also act as a deterrent.

“Anyone having some funny ideas against another will hopefully think twice, thrice, or multiple times before doing that. That stops something terrible from happening.”

Coming to Saudi’s defense is nevertheless complex calculation for Pakistan, which has played a key role in mediating between Iran – its neighbor and backer of the Houthis – and the US, since the US and Israel launched their war with Iran.

In 2015, Pakistan’s parliament voted against sending troops to assist Saudi Arabia in an earlier round of fighting against the Houthis in Yemen.

Chaudhry said Pakistan was still pushing for a deal to end the US-Iran war.

“We have done, are doing, and will continue to do whatever is possible and necessary so that the differences and the gaps narrow down and there is a negotiated, peaceful outcome. We want this conflict not to expand.”

Houthi airport attacks

The Houthi-controlled armed forces said they fired a ballistic missile towards Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport on Wednesday, in an attack Saudi authorities say killed a Sudanese resident and wounded eight others.

Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, later said Saudi forces had destroyed the ballistic missile launcher used in the Riyadh attack, adding that preparations were underway for “another imminent attack.”

The attack on the Abha International Airport on Tuesday killed two female residents, one Moroccan and one Algerian national, and wounded 28 others, said Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation. The Houthi claimed responsibility for both attacks.

This week, Houthi fighters also used ballistic missiles to target the international airport in Aden – which serves as the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, and an important transit hub for areas outside of Houthi control.

The missiles landed near the airport’s runway shortly before a Yemenia Airways flight from Cairo had been due to land, forcing the plane to divert to Saudi’s Jeddah, Yemen’s Transport ministry said on Wednesday.

The attacks come as Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces press ahead with Operation “Dawn of Yemen,” a major offensive aimed at rolling back recent Houthi gains.

Last month, the Houthis seized effective control of the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait – a key waterway for the global oil trade – after claiming key Yemeni positions along the Red Sea coastline. But in recent days Yemeni forces have claimed to have retaken some of those positions.

With civilian infrastructure now coming under renewed attack, the hostilities are showing signs of expanding beyond the battlefield in Yemen and posing a growing challenge to Saudi security and transportation networks.

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