Cairo, Oct 21:
The death toll from a Houthi missile strike on a government military training camp in southern Yemen has risen to 73, with more than 200 others injured, a senior Yemeni government official said on Tuesday. The attack was described as the deadliest since fighting in the country intensified three months ago.
The strike hit the al-Alam training camp in Shabwa province on Monday while newly recruited personnel were assembling for a training session. Shabwa Governor Awad Ibn al-Wazir said the victims were recruits aged between 18 and 20, some of whom remained missing a day after the attack. Several injured personnel were reported to be in critical condition and had been transferred to hospitals outside the province. The governor said the recruits were being trained to provide security in Shabwa rather than to participate in frontline combat operations. The attack has raised fresh concerns over the vulnerability of military facilities and the risks faced by young recruits.
The latest violence follows the collapse of a ceasefire that had largely contained fighting in Yemen since 2022. Hostilities escalated in July after forces aligned with the internationally recognised government and a Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport. The Iran-backed Houthis have also launched missiles and drones towards Saudi Arabia. The renewed fighting threatens to deepen the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where years of conflict have devastated infrastructure and left large sections of the population dependent on humanitarian assistance.