This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-51166943

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Yemen war: At least 80 soldiers killed in missile attack Yemen war: Death toll in attack on military base rises to 111
(1 day later)
A missile attack on a military training camp in Yemen has killed at least 80 soldiers. The death toll from Saturday's missile attack on a military training camp in Yemen has risen to at least 111, the country's government has said.
Dozens of others were wounded in the strike in the central province of Marib on Saturday, officials say. The missile struck a mosque at the al-Estiqbal camp in Marib where soldiers had gathered for evening prayers.
The camp, about 170km (105 miles) east of the capital, Sanaa, targeted a mosque as people gathered for prayer, military sources told Reuters. The government blamed the rebel Houthi movement, but it did not immediately confirm it had launched the missile.
Yemen's government has blamed Houthi rebels for the attack, but there has been no claim of responsibility. It was one of the bloodiest single attacks since the conflict in Yemen escalated five years ago.
Officials said they expected the death toll to rise. The fighting between the Houthis and forces loyal to the government, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition, has devastated the country, killed an estimated 100,000 people, and triggered the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi condemned the "cowardly" attack in a statement carried by Saba, a state news agency. More than 11 million people face a daily struggle to find enough food, and 240,000 people live in famine-like conditions, according to the World Food Programme.
The attack "confirms without doubt that the Houthis have no desire for peace", Mr Hadi was quoted as saying. Initial reports about the attack on al-Estiqbal camp, which is 170km (105 miles) east of the rebel-held capital Sanaa, said at least 80 soldiers were killed.
In August last year, Houthi rebels launched a missile attack on a Yemen government forces military parade in the southern port city of Aden, killing at least 32 people. But by Sunday night the death toll had risen to at least 111 due to the "serious and fatal injuries sustained by the soldiers", Health Ministry Undersecretary Abdul Raqeeb al-Haidari told the news website al-Masdar Online.
Yemen has been devastated by a conflict that escalated in March 2015, when Houthi rebels seized control of much of the west of the country and forced President Hadi to flee abroad. Military and medical sources told AFP news agency that 116 people had died.
Alarmed by the rise of a group they believed to be backed militarily by regional Shia Muslim power Iran, Saudi Arabia and eight other mostly Sunni Muslim Arab states began an air campaign aimed at restoring Mr Hadi's government. President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi denounced the missile attack as a "cowardly and terrorist" act, which he said confirmed "without doubt that the Houthis have no desire for peace".
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis by the UN. The Saudi foreign ministry said the incident "reflects this terrorist militia's disregard for sacred places and... for Yemeni blood".
The United Nations special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, condemned the recent escalation of hostilities in the country, and said Saturday's attack was "of particular concern".
"I have said before that the hard-earned progress that Yemen has made on de-escalation is very fragile. Such actions can derail this progress," he warned. "I urge all parties to stop the escalation now and to direct their energy away from the military front and into the politics."