Twenty bodies lay scattered across the sandy terrain of the al-Alam military training camp in Shabwa province on Monday morning. The Houthis had just launched at least three ballistic missiles at the facility, a strike that Yemeni military officials told the Associated Press resulted in 20 deaths and 24 injuries. It was a brutal end to a fragile peace that had held for months.
The attack marks the deadliest incident in a renewed escalation of fighting that began as tensions flared between Iran and the US. The 2022 ceasefire, which had largely halted the civil war, is now effectively dead. Footage from the scene showed shredded clothes and body parts, a visceral reminder of the kinetic power of the ballistic missiles.
The violence was not one-sided. The Houthi health ministry reported that a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in the rebel-controlled northern province of Saada killed at least nine people, including five children and two women. Over the weekend, rebels claimed that more than 30 people were killed or injured in similar attacks.
On the ground, the fighting is grinding forward. Government forces claimed they recaptured Sanamat in Taiz governorate and are advancing toward Misrakh. One civilian died and five were wounded in Houthi shelling in the area.
The strategic stakes are high in Taiz, a government stronghold where the UN warns food supplies are running low. Local authorities accuse the Houthis of blocking water tank deliveries into the city as they attempt to encircle it. The diplomatic window for a quick fix is closing fast as both sides dig in.