The death toll from a Houthi militia attack on a government forces camp in southern Yemen rose to 53 yesterday, regional authorities in Shabwa governorate announced.
The authorities described the attack as one of the deadliest incidents in the latest escalation of fighting.
Authorities in Shabwa said the terrorist militia fired three ballistic missiles at Al Alam military camp in the southern governorate, killing 53 people and injuring 200 others.
The authorities said that the death toll was preliminary and could rise further. They explained that the recruits were undergoing training to join the internal security forces.
“This treacherous and bloody attack targeted new recruits undergoing training and preparation. It constitutes a highly dangerous military escalation and an outright act of aggression against the security and stability of Shabwa governorate,” a statement said, calling on Yemen’s President, the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen and the government to urgently provide air defence and early warning systems to strengthen Shabwa’s capabilities.
Two government hospitals and other private healthcare facilities in the governorate have been instructed to provide medical care to the injured and transfer those with serious injuries to specialised units when necessary, the statement revealed.
Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Al Alimi vowed a ‘firm response’. He said the attack reflected ‘the Houthis’ approach of resorting to cowardly terrorist attacks whenever they come under pressure or their Iranian-backed subversive schemes are thwarted’.
The coalition in Yemen warned yesterday that the Iran-backed Houthi militia was exploiting traditional fishing boats to smuggle weapons, missiles and military equipment into Yemen, urging vessel owners not to co-operate with the militia.
In a statement issued by the coalition’s Joint Forces Command, the coalition identified four vessels as types of traditional maritime craft being used by the Houthis to transport military supplies by sea.
The coalition said the smuggling operations posed a direct threat to Yemen’s security, as well as regional and international security, and endangered the lives of civilians.
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