More than 53 people have been killed and over 200 others injured in a Houthi militia attack targeting a security training centre in Yemen’s southern province of Shabwa.

In a statement released on Facebook, the Shabwa governorate said on Monday that the strike hit the facility while new internal security recruits were undergoing training.

“The scale of this tragedy cannot be met with condemnation alone, but requires urgent military and security measures to prevent such attacks from recurring,” the local authorities stressed, urging the Yemeni government and the Saudi-led coalition to strengthen the governorate’s defensive capabilities.

The Houthi militia did not immediately comment on the statement.

The strike comes amid escalating hostilities between the Houthi militia and forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government, backed by the Saudi-led coalition.

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since 2014, when the Houthi militia seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen.