Turkey and Pakistan have agreed with Saudi Arabia to move "immediately" to put their mutual defence pact into practice, announcing the rapid deployment of military forces to the kingdom as fighting with Yemen's Houthi movement intensifies. The decision followed an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Monday of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee of the Mecca Defence Alliance, a three-way agreement signed on 7 August.
A joint statement said the three countries would take "the necessary measures to provide the agreed military forces and capabilities" and deploy them quickly, in line with agreed arrangements and each country's national legislation. The text did not name the Houthis, an Iran-backed group that has controlled much of Yemen for a decade. It did, however, condemn "in the strongest terms" strikes targeting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, which Saudi Arabia blames on the Houthis, as well as continuing attacks on civilian and economic sites. The Houthis say they have never targeted the two holy cities. It is the first time the pact has been activated. It links Turkey, a NATO member with the alliance's second-largest army, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf's leading power, and Pakistan, the Muslim world's only nuclear-armed state. Under its terms, an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all.
The meeting came as explosions were heard over Riyadh on Monday evening, according to journalists and residents. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed attacks with drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles on Riyadh's international airport and an Aramco refinery at Rabigh, as well as military sites and airports in southern Saudi Arabia. The group also warned airlines that Saudi airspace was "not safe".
The escalation follows the resumption in July of fighting between Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and the Houthis after years of relative calm. A lightning Houthi offensive in September gave the group control of Yemen's entire Red Sea coast, including the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait. On Sunday, government forces announced a major counter-offensive, claiming more than 1,000 strikes and an advance on the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa. The Saudi-led coalition said 100 fighter jets took part and 324 high-value targets were destroyed.
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the Turkish and Pakistani armies already have a "presence in theatre" but are playing a supportive role, with Pakistan involved in reconnaissance, while only Saudi troops are in combat. He said the meeting mainly formalised the alliance's organisational structure, including the appointment of retired Pakistani Lt Gen Nauman Mahmood as its first secretary general for a three-year term.
The move matters because Riyadh and Yemeni government forces had repeatedly sought outside help, including from the United States, without success so far. The activation of the pact is a test of whether the new alliance can provide credible deterrence and adds a further layer of regional involvement to a conflict that has opened a new front in the wider Middle East war.