More than 50 recruits were killed and over 200 wounded when Iran-backed Houthi forces targeted the al-Alam military camp in Yemen’s oil-rich Shabwa province with ballistic missiles on Monday, local officials said. The strike hit new members of the internal security forces who were undergoing training at the facility — a center for security and police recruits — according to a statement from Shabwa authorities.

“More than 53 recruits” were killed in the attack, Shabwa authorities said, adding that three ballistic missiles struck the camp and all casualties were new recruits undergoing training. Military sources described the assault as the deadliest single incident in weeks as fighting escalates between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised, Saudi-supported government following the collapse of a years-long truce.

Hospitals overwhelmed

The scale of casualties overwhelmed medical facilities in Shabwa, forcing authorities to transfer the most seriously wounded to neighbouring Hadramout and Aden for treatment. Fahad al-Khalifi, deputy governor of Shabwa, told AFP that “Some of them (are) in critical condition,” adding that hospitals were struggling to cope with the influx.

Fears of ground offensive

Shabwa contains major oil and gas fields and is home to the Balhaf liquefied natural gas terminal, the country’s largest energy facility. Government military sources expressed fears that the strikes could pave the way for a ground offensive similar to the Houthi seizure of Mokha last month, while the Houthis’ Saba news agency quoted a military source as saying the group targeted “Saudi enemy gatherings” at the camp. The attack comes amid a dramatic escalation since a 2022 truce collapsed in July, with the Houthis declaring a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and seizing strategic Red Sea coastline positions last month before launching unprecedented strikes on Riyadh airport that killed 13 people.