They had come from several provinces to train as police and internal security officers. On Monday, the camp became the scene of one of the deadliest attacks in Yemen's renewed war. More than 50 security personnel were killed and 200 injured when Houthi missiles struck a training camp in the central province of Shabwa, local authorities say, according to the BBC.
A spokesman for the Saudi-backed Yemeni armed forces said the Iran-backed group fired three ballistic missiles at al-Alam camp near the city of Ataq, a training centre for security and police recruits.
Hospitals overwhelmed
Shabwa's media office said the missiles hit the Martyr Ahmed al-Sulaimani Training Centre and, according to a preliminary assessment, killed 53 people and injured more than 200. A video posted on social media appeared to show several bodies scattered across the ground.
Deputy governor Fahad al-Khalifi told AFP that the province's hospitals were overwhelmed and the most seriously wounded had been moved to neighbouring Hadramout and to Aden, some in critical condition.
'War crime' or 'Saudi gathering'?
Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, condemned a "criminal attack" and promised a "firm response". Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani called it a war crime, saying the centre was not a military target, and accused the Houthis of trying to fabricate a media victory to cover setbacks on the battlefield.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the missiles targeted a gathering of "Saudi enemy" forces at al-Alam camp, which he claimed was run by Saudi officers. There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities, the BBC reported.
A war reignited
Fighting has flared since early October, when pro-government forces backed by Saudi-led coalition air power launched an offensive to retake Houthi-held territory in western Yemen, regaining Red Sea coastline overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait that the Houthis seized in September. Heavy clashes continue around Taiz and in Marib and al-Jawf.
The Houthis have answered with missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, energy facilities and bases; at least 19 people have been killed in attacks on the kingdom's airports since the start of October. Houthi-run media said a Saudi air strike on a home in Saada's Sahar district on Sunday killed at least 10 people.
Yemen's government health ministry says at least 1,282 people have been killed across the country since August 6. A civil war that began in 2014, and reignited in July after a four-year informal truce unravelled, is once again claiming the country's young men.
Read the BBC's report.