Houthi rebels fired three ballistic missiles at a camp that trains recruits for Yemen's security forces in Shabwa province on Monday, killing at least 53 people in one count and more than 70 in a later one, as the country's civil war escalates.1,3,4,5
The Iran-backed group confirmed that it had targeted the camp, which the Saudi-backed Yemeni armed forces identified as al-Alam camp near the city of Ataq. The armed forces said it was being used as a training centre for recruits to the security forces and police. Shabwa province's media office gave the camp's name as the Martyr Ahmed al-Sulaimani Training Centre and said recruits from several provinces were undergoing training there.4,5
The reported death toll has changed several times. Military sources first put it at 30, but the figure rose to at least 50 later on Monday, when the Associated Press gave a toll of 53 citing provincial authorities. Shabwa's media office initially reported 53 killed and 200 injured. On Tuesday it said an investigative committee had informed Governor Awad bin al-Wazir that the toll was now 73, with another 14 people reported missing.1,3,4,5
Fahad al-Khalifi, the deputy governor of Shabwa, told AFP that the toll had risen. "The death toll has risen to at least 50, with more than 100 people injured, some of them in critical condition," he said, according to AFP. He said local hospitals had been overwhelmed and that the most seriously wounded had been moved to facilities in other provinces. BBC reported that they were taken to Hadramout and Aden, where the government is based.4,5
The Houthis' military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said in a statement that the missiles had targeted a gathering of "Saudi enemy" forces at al-Alam camp, which he said was run by Saudi officers. Earlier, the Houthis had described their target as "Saudi enemy concentrations." A video posted on social media appeared to show several bodies scattered across the ground at the camp.4,5
The head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, condemned what he called the "criminal attack" and promised a "firm response." Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said the attack constituted a war crime because the internal security forces training centre was not a military target. He also accused the Houthis of "attempting to fabricate a false media victory, boost the morale of its collapsing elements, and cover up the defeats and setbacks it is suffering across various combat axes."5
There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities. The Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition have traded strikes in recent weeks, and the Monday attack was the deadliest reported since the escalation began, according to BBC.5
The fighting follows a shift in the war's frontlines. The Houthis began a new offensive against the internationally recognised Yemeni government in September, and BBC reported that they captured territory around the Bab al-Mandab Strait in a surprise assault that month. At the start of October, pro-government forces launched a major offensive aimed at retaking territory in western Yemen, and with air support from the Saudi-led coalition they regained control of land on the Red Sea coast overlooking the strait. Fierce fighting continues around the besieged government-held city of Taiz and to the north, in Marib and al-Jawf provinces.4,5
The Houthis have responded to Saudi air strikes by launching missiles and drones at airports, energy facilities and military bases in Saudi Arabia. At least 19 people have been killed in Houthi attacks on the kingdom's airports since the beginning of October, BBC reported.5
Houthi-run media reported that a Saudi air strike on a home in the Sahar district of Saada province on Sunday killed at least 10 people and injured 23 others, many of them women and children. The Houthi-run health ministry in north-western Yemen said 141 people had been killed in Saudi strikes over the past seven weeks. DW reported that Monday's strike followed deadly attacks over the weekend that were blamed on Saudi-led forces.4,5
The government's health ministry said last week that at least 1,282 people had been killed in the conflict across Yemen since 6 August. A four-year informal ceasefire began to unravel in July, when the Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea. The Houthis said they were retaliating for what they call a Saudi blockade of their territory, as well as an air strike on Sanaa airport that they blamed on the kingdom.5
The civil war began in 2014, when the Houthis ousted the government from the capital, Sanaa. The conflict escalated in 2015, after a Saudi-led coalition intervened to try to restore the government's rule. Shabwa's investigative committee has not published details of how the figure of 73 was reached, and the 14 people reported missing had not been accounted for in the statements available.5