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Fifty-three people were killed and 200 injured in a Houthi attack on a government security forces training camp in Yemen’s Shabwa province on Monday, local authorities said.
Video from the site, which was published on social media on Monday, showed injured people and bloodied bodies scattered across the ground. The identities of the people and bodies shown could not be independently verified.
The Iran-aligned Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at security forces during a training exercise, sources in the local administration told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree confirmed on X that the group had targeted the camp, claiming it was run by Saudi forces. Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shabwa, an energy-rich province overlooking the Gulf of Aden, houses the Balhaf liquefied natural gas facility, Yemen’s largest industrial investment.
The attack comes amid renewed fighting between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition.
The two sides have traded attacks since the Houthis advanced in September towards territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a shipping chokepoint at the mouth of the Red Sea.
Government forces launched a campaign this month to recapture Houthi-held areas and have recovered ground near the strait. The Houthis, meanwhile, are besieging Taiz, the last major urban stronghold of anti-Houthi forces in Yemen’s southern highlands.
The conflict has also become a front in the wider US-Israeli war on Iran. The Houthis have stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting Riyadh’s international airport and state oil company Saudi Aramco.
Yemen’s war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the government south. A Saudi-led military intervention followed in 2015, leading to a bloody stalemate.
A truce agreed in 2022 held until this year. Renewed fighting now threatens to deepen one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with aid agencies warning of rapidly deteriorating conditions.
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(With inputs from Reuters)
