In brief
A recent missile strike by Houthi forces targeted a security training center near Ataq city in Shabwa province, resulting in the deaths of over 50 recruits and injuries to about 200. The attack, described by Yemen’s government as a war crime, follows a renewed offensive by pro‑government forces attempting to regain western Yemen from Houthi control. President Rashad al‑Alimi condemned the strike and vowed a firm response while Houthi officials said the missiles hit a “Saudi enemy” gathering. Hospitals in the region are overwhelmed, with severe cases being transferred to nearby provinces. The incident underscores the worsening humanitarian crisis of Yemen’s prolonged civil war.
More than 50 security personnel have been killed and 200 injured in a Houthi missile strike on al-Alam camp near Ataq city in Shabwa province, the domestic ministry of defence said.
The attack, allegedly launched by an Iran‑backed Houthi group, targeted a training centre for recruits to Yemen’s internal security forces, according to a spokesperson for the Saudi‑backed armed forces.
President Rashad al‑Alimi condemned the strike as a criminal attack and vowed a firm response, while Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea said the missiles were aimed at a Saudi enemy concentration run by Saudi officers.
The assault is one of the deadliest since the recent escalation of fighting that began in early October, when pro‑government forces re‑opened a major offensive to retake western Yemen from Houthi control.
Shabwa’s deputy governor said hospitals were overwhelmed and heavily injured fighters were transferred to neighbouring Hadramout and Aden. The government’s information minister deemed the strike a warcrime, arguing the training centre was not a legitimate military target.
In a separate incident, Houthi‑run media reported a Saudi air strike on a Houthi‑controlled home killed at least 10 individuals, most of them women and children; the Houthi health ministry summed casualties at 141 in Saudi strikes over the past seven weeks.
The wider conflict, which erupted in 2014 and drew in a Saudi‑led coalition in 2015, has caused widespread devastation. The most recent escalation has reignited violent confrontations across Shabwa, Taiz, Marib, and al‑Jawf provinces.
