Death toll in Houthi attack on Shabwa recruit training camp in Yemen rises to 73; government calls it a "war crime"

YEMEN

Yemen's government on Oct. 19 (local time) labeled the Houthi rebels' attack on a recruit training camp in southern Shabwa province "terrorism" and a "war crime." Shabwa Governor Awad Ibn al-Wazir announced on Oct. 20 that the death toll at the camp had risen to 73. Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Chairman Rashad al-Alimi spoke by phone on Oct. 19 with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and asked him to support international action at the Security Council level to designate the Houthis a terrorist organization. The official government news agency SABA reported the developments in a series of dispatches datelined Aden.

Shabwa governor says death toll at recruit training camp rose to 73

The number of victims rose sharply from the initial announcement. An announcement from al-Alimi's office on the morning of Oct. 19 said only that there were dead and wounded, without giving figures. The same day, Shabwa local authorities announced a preliminary count of 53 recruits killed and more than 200 wounded (استشهاد 53 مجندًا وإصابة أكثر من 200 آخرين). Governor Ibn al-Wazir announced on Oct. 20 that the death toll at the recruit training camp had risen to 73 and that 14 people were still missing (فيما لا يزال 14 آخرون في عداد المفقودين). The governor gave the count while receiving a report on the condition and treatment of the wounded from a health committee headed by Deputy Governor Ahmed al-Daghari. The governor condemned the attack as a crime unprecedented in the history of wars and conflicts and said the blood of the martyrs "will not go in vain" (لن تذهب هدرا). The governor ordered that treatment of the wounded be followed through to the end and that support for the families of the martyrs and the missing continue. The Oct. 20 announcement did not include an updated number of wounded.

Prime Minister Shaya Mohsen al-Zindani called Governor Ibn al-Wazir and was briefed on the circumstances of the attack. The prime minister checked on the treatment of the wounded, the handling of the victims and the payment of allowances to bereaved families.

Some of the wounded are being treated in Mukalla in neighboring Hadramout province. Salem Ahmed al-Khanbashi, governor of Hadramout and a member of the Presidential Leadership Council, visited several hospitals in Mukalla on Oct. 20 to check on the condition of those wounded in the attack on the al-Alam training camp. Governor al-Khanbashi was briefed by medical staff on the severity of the injuries and the progress of treatment and conveyed al-Alimi's wishes for a speedy recovery. Governor al-Khanbashi pledged that local authorities would continue to monitor the condition of the wounded and work with health authorities to speed up treatment. Governor al-Khanbashi also visited the National Blood Center and its affiliated research department to check on the recruitment of blood donors and emergency blood supplies. Governor al-Khanbashi called for readiness to respond quickly to humanitarian emergencies. Referring to residents who came forward to donate blood, Governor al-Khanbashi said the people of Hadramout were a model of social solidarity and cohesion (نموذجاً للتكافل والتلاحم المجتمعي).

Information minister Eryani calls it a war crime, says site was a security recruit training ground unrelated to the front lines

Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani said in a statement on Oct. 19 that the attack took place at the "Martyr Ahmed al-Sulaimani Training Camp" on the outskirts of Ataq, the capital of Shabwa. Eryani stressed that the site trains new recruits in internal security (مجندون مستجدون في الأمن الداخلي) and is not a military target connected to front-line fighting. Eryani said "dozens" of recruits (العشرات من المجندين) were killed or wounded in the attack.

Eryani labeled the attack a "war crime" (جريمة حرب) and accused the Houthis of "killing for the sake of killing" (القتل لمجرد القتل). Eryani claimed the Houthis sought to manufacture a false "media victory" to cover up their defeats on the battlefield and lift the collapsing morale of their fighters. Eryani said the attack was evidence of the Houthis' military and moral bankruptcy. Eryani also warned of the threat posed by the Houthis' continued possession and use of ballistic missiles. Eryani called for raising the level of security and military alert in the government-controlled so-called "liberated" provinces.

Lt. Gen. Mahmoud al-Subaihi, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council, said in a statement to SABA in Aden the same day that a parade formation of recruits had been attacked, referring to the site as the "al-Alam Training Camp" (معسكر العلم). Al-Subaihi said the attack "once again revealed the seriousness of the threat the militia poses to Yemen and state institutions." Al-Subaihi said "the blood of the martyrs will remain a national responsibility" and urged a strengthening of military and security readiness. Al-Subaihi also called for treatment of the wounded and support for the victims' families. Eryani expressed condolences to the victims' families, the wounded and the people of Shabwa.

Al-Alimi orders support for bereaved families and a "decisive response"

Al-Alimi spoke by phone with Governor Ibn al-Wazir on Oct. 19 to review the situation in Shabwa. According to an announcement from al-Alimi's office, the target of the attack was a parade formation of recruits gathered from several provinces. Al-Alimi ordered the relevant authorities to treat the wounded and care for the victims' families. Al-Alimi also ordered that procedures to settle the status of the victims' families be completed and that salaries be paid. Al-Alimi offered condolences to the victims' families and wished the wounded a speedy recovery.

Al-Alimi ordered that the measures necessary for a "decisive response" against the sources of the attack (الرد الحازم على مصادر الهجوم) be taken. He named the Houthis as the perpetrators. Al-Alimi claimed the Houthis had resorted to "cowardly terrorist attacks" whenever they came under pressure or their plans failed and that such attacks are backed by the Iranian regime. Al-Alimi said the blood of the martyrs "will not go in vain" (لن تذهب هدراً) and that the attack would not break the government's resolve to protect its people and restore state institutions.

Interior Minister Ibrahim Ali Haidan said in Aden on Oct. 20 that "the Houthis' terrorist acts will not prevent the security agencies from carrying out their national duties." Haidan said "these crimes will not be subject to a statute of limitations" (هذه الجرائم لن تسقط بالتقادم) and that the Houthi leadership and those who aided the attack would be pursued to the end and brought to court. Haidan described targeting security agencies and their training facilities as the Houthis' terrorist pattern of behavior. Haidan called the Houthis "the Iran-backed coup militias" (مليشيات الحوثي الانقلابية المدعومة من إيران). Haidan expressed condolences to the victims' families and wished the wounded a speedy recovery. Haidan ordered greater coordination among security units and a higher level of alert. The time of the attack does not appear in the government statements.

Al-Alimi asks Guterres to support designating the Houthis a terrorist organization

Al-Alimi made a formal request in his phone call with Secretary-General Guterres on Oct. 19. Al-Alimi asked him to support international action through the Security Council to designate the Houthis a "terrorist organization" (منظمة إرهابية), ensure implementation of the arms embargo on the Houthis, cut off their funding and weapons supply sources, and punish their backers and those responsible for violations.

Al-Alimi said in the call that the Houthis were raining missile and drone attacks on state institutions and civilian facilities and expanding the scope of their attacks to cities and villages. Al-Alimi said the Houthis were besieging Taiz and shelling residential areas, and that thousands of people, including civilians and children driven to the front lines, had been killed or wounded. Al-Alimi said "more than 70 U.N. staff" (أكثر من سبعين من موظفي الأمم المتحدة) were still being detained by the Houthis and that thousands of civilians had been abducted.

Al-Alimi claimed that the government had engaged responsibly with peace initiatives, while the Houthis had used truces to regroup and escalate. Al-Alimi urged the international community not to stop at condemnation but to fully implement U.N. resolutions to end the Houthi threat, lift the sieges of cities and open safe corridors for civilians, food and medicine. Al-Alimi stressed that the government's principles of a just and lasting peace based on U.N. resolutions, Yemen's unity and sovereignty, and the restoration of state institutions remained unchanged.

According to the Yemeni government's announcement, Guterres condemned the Houthis' attacks inside and outside Yemen in the strongest terms. The Yemeni government said Guterres expressed his opposition to the continued detention of U.N. staff and public-sector employees and said the United Nations would strengthen its support for the Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia against all threats.

Houthis keep up attacks on Aden airport and Saudi territory in the same week

Three days before the Shabwa attack, Aden International Airport was targeted. Yemen's Ministry of Transport said in a statement on the night of Oct. 16 that the Houthis fired two ballistic missiles at Aden International Airport that evening. The ministry said it was the second attack on the airport in 10 days. According to the ministry, the first missile fell toward the runway near the airport's western gate and the second fell to the northwest of the airport.

At the moment of the attack, Yemenia flight IYE 612 bound for Cairo was preparing to take off on the runway. The ministry said passengers and crew were evacuated immediately. Fly Aden flight QFF101, which had departed Cairo, was approaching the airport. The ministry said the attack could have led to "heavy human and material losses" (خسائر بشرية ومادية جسيمة). Saying the airport is "a civilian facility for citizens and travelers," the ministry called on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the United Nations to clearly condemn the attack and punish those responsible. The ministry called the attack "a terrorist crime committed by the Houthi militia backed by the Iranian regime" and said "the damage from attacks targeting civilian airports is not limited to the targeted facility." The ministry's statement did not specify casualties or specific damage to facilities.