Houthi missile strike on Yemeni training camp kills at least 53, officials say

Missiles hit a recruit camp in Shabwa

Houthi forces fired three ballistic missiles at the al-Alam camp in Shabwa province on 19 October, hitting a training centre for security and police recruits, according to the Yemeni armed forces. The camp sits in the Jardan district north of the provincial capital Ataq, on a route toward the government-held province of Marib and close to supply lines for government forces. Col. Majed al-Nuzaili, the army spokesman, confirmed the launches on social media without giving further detail. Four government and medical sources told Reuters the strike came during a morning exercise. The Houthi-run Saba news agency said the group had targeted what it called Saudi "troop buildups" at the camp and did not mention recruits.

Casualty figures differ by source

The death toll has moved through the day and varies widely between outlets. Shabwa provincial authorities said more than 53 recruits were killed and more than 200 injured, and the Guardian reported at least 53 dead. An earlier AP report cited officials speaking anonymously who put the toll at no fewer than 20 soldiers, while the NYT quoted the army spokesman saying at least 47 had been killed and 53 wounded. A government official told AFP at least 50 were dead and more than 100 wounded. Hospitals in Shabwa were overwhelmed, so the most seriously wounded were moved to Aden, Hadramout and Al Mukalla. The deputy governor of Shabwa, Fahd Al-Khulaifi, told the NYT in a telephone interview:

The number of martyrs is very high and is expected to rise.

Government response and calls for a terrorist designation

Rashad al-Alimi, who heads the Presidential Leadership Council, said the dead were new recruits from across the country and promised a hard response. He phoned UN secretary-general António Guterres on 19 October and asked the UN to classify the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organisation. Alimi framed the strike as part of what he called the Houthi militias' pattern of terrorist attacks whenever they face pressure. The Shabwa provincial authority described the attack as a blatant assault on the province, and Governor Awad bin Al-Wazir visited the wounded in hospital. An inquiry is planned into how so many troops were left exposed to missile fire.

Targeting recruits constitutes a military escalation and a blatant assault on the province's security.

A wider escalation with Saudi Arabia

The war resumed after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, the Houthis' main patron, at the end of February. In mid-September the group began pushing south along the Red Sea coast toward the Bab al-Mandab waterway. A Saudi-led airstrike on Sunday, 18 October, killed at least nine people in Saada, including five children and two women, according to the Houthi-run health ministry. An attack on Riyadh airport earlier in October killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. On 19 October residents of Riyadh received a message warning of a hostile air threat, and similar alerts were issued in Al-Kharj, where the Prince Sultan air base is located. Saudi authorities accused Tehran of encouraging the escalation and said the Houthis had rejected a Saudi proposal for talks in Muscat, Oman. Reports differ on whether the group claimed the Shabwa strike, with some saying it did and framed it as aimed at Saudi troops, while others said no claim had been made.

What comes next

Shabwa holds major oil and gas fields and the Balhaf liquefied natural gas terminal, the country's largest energy facility. A government military source told RTE the army feared the strikes could pave the way for a ground offensive similar to the Houthi seizure of Mokha. The same source said the Houthis had cut the road linking Shabwa with the Houthi-controlled Al-Bayda province. The government has promised a response, and an inquiry into the exposure of the troops is planned. Houthi forces have also cut the road between government-run Shabwa and the Houthi-run Bayda governorate.