SANAA, Nov. 01 (YPA) – Sanaa has highlighted one of the most striking military paradoxes: the inflated number of fighters listed in the ranks of Saudi-backed military brigades on Yemen’s fronts, where payroll records stand in stark contrast to the reality on the ground.

Thousands of registered names, it said, have effectively become a phantom army, with many absent from the battlefields.

Saleh al-Mughlis, a member of the Ansar Allah Political Bureau in Sanaa, drew attention to this discrepancy, citing an incident on the Al-Mawasat front in Taiz province that he said exposed the gap between the numbers recorded on official lists and the forces actually deployed in the field.

In a post on his X account, al-Mughlis said the number of fighters in what he described as Saudi-backed mercenary brigades was greatly inflated in payroll records, while their actual presence on the ground dwindled, with fictitious names and individuals who remained at home.

He said the 35th Brigade, Special Forces and Nation’s Shield Brigades together constituted nearly three brigades, with a total strength of around 3,000 fighters according to official records. However, he claimed that no more than 20 personnel were present at frontline positions, distributed across several sites.

Al-Mughlis mocked Saudi Arabia for continuing to rely on these formations, saying: What is astonishing is that Saudi Arabia is still betting on people like these. He was referring to a glaring disparity between the large numbers on the brigades’ payrolls, funded by Riyadh, and the forces actually fighting on the ground.

But al-Mughlis’s message went beyond exposing what he called the scandal of paper brigades. It also carried direct political messages to Riyadh, arguing that relying on military buildups or seeking support from foreign powers would not provide the Kingdom with a way out of its crisis.

He said the way forward was to begin implementing the humanitarian and economic commitments under the agreed roadmap, stressing that neither the United States, Israeli occupation nor any other alliance would be able to shield Saudi Arabia from the consequences of the continuing crisis.

Al-Mughlis linked the Kingdom’s security and stability to respecting the Yemeni people, their independence and sovereignty, and implementing the requirements of peace. His message presented Riyadh with a political choice that goes beyond calculations of military confrontation.

Thus, Sanaa’s message combined a satirical military disclosure with a direct political position, setting out what it described as the path out of Saudi Arabia’s crisis: not recruiting more names or seeking help from allies, but implementing the commitments required for peace.

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