At least 14 people were killed and more than 30 others were wounded on Wednesday when missiles struck a military training camp in southern Yemen. The strike hit the area around Al-Allala camp near Qatabah district in northern Al-Dhalea province, where new recruits were gathered, according to medical sources cited by Yemeni broadcasters.
The death toll rose through the day as medical sources confirmed further casualties, after early reports had put the number of dead lower. Hospitals in the area appealed for blood donations as the wounded arrived.
FAKTA
- What happened: Missiles struck a military training camp near Qatabah in northern Al-Dhalea province, southern Yemen, on Wednesday, 4 November.
- Casualties: At least 14 people killed and more than 30 wounded, according to medical sources cited by Al-Jumhuriya TV; an earlier tally from South24 Center put the dead at nine, and the toll may still change.
- Target: Recruits gathered at the Al-Allala camp area in Qatabah district.
- Other strike reported the same day: A missile strike on a detention facility near an iron factory in Lahj province killed two people, according to South24 Center.
- Context: Yemeni government forces are pursuing an operation, launched on 5 October, aimed at retaking the capital, Sanaa, from the Houthis.
Strike on the training camp
Al-Jumhuriya TV, citing medical sources, reported that the shelling targeted recruits in the Qatabah area and that the confirmed death toll later increased to 14. South24 Center reported that ballistic missiles were fired at the vicinity of Al-Allala camp on Wednesday morning, and that seven newly recruited personnel were among the first casualties confirmed.
Following the strike, appeals were issued urging residents to donate blood at Al-Nasr Hospital and at the field hospital in Sanah to help save the wounded. South24 Center also reported that a separate missile strike early on Wednesday hit a detention facility near an iron factory in Lahj province, killing two people.
Fighting on several fronts
The same day brought reports of fighting elsewhere in Yemen. Al-Jumhuriya TV reported airstrikes on Houthi weapons depots and military vehicles at the Central Security Camp in Al-Bayda province, without identifying who carried them out. Aden TV reported an ambush near Al-Aqroud, south of Taiz, artillery fire in Marib, and a missile strike on a prison at the Iron Factory site in Lahj, with reported deaths and injuries among detainees there.
The violence comes as Yemeni government forces continue an operation called Dawn of Yemen, launched on 5 October, which aims to regain control of state institutions and retake Sanaa from the Houthis. Fighting between the two sides resumed in July after a period of relative calm.
What remains unclear
Casualty figures from the Al-Dhalea strike were still moving as reports came in, and the final toll may yet change. The Houthi side had not publicly commented on the specific strike in the accounts carried by the broadcasters.
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