Turkey, Pakistan to deploy troops to Saudi Arabia

Turkey and Pakistan will rapidly deploy troops to Saudi Arabia under a new mutual defence alliance, the three countries said Monday, as the kingdom faces repeated attacks from Yemen's Houthis.

Representatives of the three countries held an emergency meeting in Riyadh after what their joint statement described as recent attacks on Saudi Arabia, especially those targeting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The statement did not name the Houthis.

The countries said they rejected any attack or threat against Saudi Arabia's security and territorial integrity. They also agreed to move immediately to implement collective defence commitments and provide agreed military forces and capabilities for rapid deployment in the kingdom.

The statement did not specify what role the Turkish and Pakistani troops would fill in Saudi Arabia.

Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August, committing them to assist one another if one is attacked. The pact links Turkey, which has NATO's second-largest army, Pakistan, the Islamic world's only nuclear-armed state, and Saudi Arabia, a leading Gulf power.

Saudi Arabia has faced repeated Houthi attacks on cities, oil infrastructure and ships since Yemen's civil war escalated again in July. In September, the Houthis launched an offensive that seized territory from Yemen's Saudi-backed government. On Monday, that government launched a counteroffensive with Riyadh's support seeking to retake Houthi-held territory.