Missile Strike on Yemen Training Camp Kills Dozens of Recruits

A Houthi ballistic missile strike on a military training camp in Yemen's central Shabwa province has left 53 security personnel dead and more than 200 injured. Three missiles hit the Martyr Ahmed al-Sulaimani Training Centre at al-Alam camp near Ataq city, where new recruits from multiple provinces were training for internal security forces and police roles. Local hospitals were quickly overwhelmed by the casualties, forcing officials to transfer the most seriously wounded patients to neighbouring Hadramout and Aden.

Reactions

Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi condemned the strike as a criminal attack and promised a firm response from the state. Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani called the incident a war crime because the training centre was not a military target, accusing the Houthi movement of trying to cover up recent battlefield setbacks. Meanwhile, the military spokesman for the Houthis, Yahya Sarea, stated that the group had intentionally targeted Saudi enemy concentrations and forces operating at the camp.

Context

Yemen has been torn apart by a long-running civil war that escalated significantly after a Saudi-led military coalition intervened in 2015 to support the ousted government against the Houthi movement. The conflict involves complex regional rivalries and has created one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises. Major military offensives and cross-border missile exchanges have intensified across the country in recent months.