In brief
In a devastating missile strike, Houthi rebels hit a training camp in Yemen’s Shabwa province, killing 53 recruits and leaving more than 200 wounded. The assault on the Martyr Ahmed al‑Sulaimani Training Centre – used by government security forces – has intensified tensions amid recent Saudi-led offensives. Yemeni officials condemned the attack as a war crime, while Houthi spokesmen claim the strike targeted Saudi‑aligned forces. The incident follows a series of cross‑border air and missile skirmishes that have escalated the civil war.
More than 50 security personnel were killed and 200 injured in a Houthi missile strike on a training camp in Yemen’s central Shabwa province, local officials reported.
The attack, launched at the Martyr Ahmed al‑Sulaimani Training Centre near Ataq, targeted recruits from several southern provinces preparing for internal security duty.
Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council president Rashad al‑Alimi condemned the strike as a “criminal attack” and vowed a firm response, while the Houthis insisted they hit a “Saudi enemy concentration”.
This raid comes as Saudi‑backed governments advance on western Yemen, reclaiming coastal towns in a campaign supported by a Saudi‑led coalition that has already pushed back Houthi forces in other fronts.
Hospitals in Shabwa are overwhelmed; the wounded are being transferred to neighboring Hadramout and Aden, where the government is headquartered. The incident is seen by officials as a war crime, given the camp’s non‑military training function.
Houthi rhetoric claims the missile launch was retaliation for Saudi airstrikes and a blockade, while Saudi authorities have issued no comment. The broader conflict, which erupted in 2014 and escalated in 2015, now sees increasing casualty figures on both sides.
