• At least 53 killed, 200 wounded in attack on govt forces’ training camp in Shabwa
• Egypt delays vote on military support for Saudi Arabia
• US embassies urge ‘heightened vigilance’ across region; Riyadh residents get ‘hostile aerial threat’ warning; govt staff told to work from home
• ‘Davos in the Desert’ postponed to next year
RIYADH: At least 53 people were killed and 200 others injured on Monday in a Houthi attack on a government security forces training camp in Yemen’s Shabwa province, local authorities said, as fighting in the impoverished country intensifies.
Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Houthis launched three ballistic missiles at security forces during a training exercise. Video from Shabwa province verified by Reuters showed injured people and bloodied bodies scattered across the ground.
The attack came amid escalating hostilities between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, with both sides trading attacks since the group advanced in September toward territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic shipping chokepoint at the mouth of the Red Sea.
The fighting in Yemen has become another front in the wider US-Israeli war with Iran, as the Houthis step up attacks on Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude oil exporter.
Riyadh alerts
Saudi authorities on Monday issued brief phone alerts to residents of the capital, Riyadh, and the nearby Kharj area, warning of a “hostile aerial threat”.
“A warning has been issued by the National Early Warning Platform in Riyadh City to alert of a potential danger,” Saudi civil defence said in a statement on X.
Hours later, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for six military operations over 48 hours using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.
Saree said the attacks targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu on the Red Sea coast and the Shaybah oil field near the United Arab Emirates border.
Other strikes targeted Abha International Airport, radar installations and Khamis Mushait air base in the southwest, alongside a naval camp and radar site in Bir Askar in the south.
Saree claimed the three-stage attack on the Riyadh airport achieved “accurate and direct” strikes in retaliation for more than 200 Saudi airstrikes and missile attacks on Houthi-held areas over the previous 48 hours.
He vowed to continue operations “towards the Saudi interior” under a policy of “escalation for escalation” until attacks on Yemen cease.
Work from home
Amid the repeated cross-border strikes, government agencies in Riyadh instructed employees to work from home starting from Monday, according to a worker and two consultants who spoke to AFP.
An internal message sent on Sunday evening said, “It has been decided to implement remote work from Monday to Thursday this week,” while asking staff to “continue their activities as normal”.
Meanwhile, the 99-storey Kingdom Centre in downtown Riyadh, which houses the regional office of the International Monetary Fund, asked employees to stay away until further notice.
Companies in the King Abdullah Financial District, home to major American firms, issued similar remote-work directives, while government offices in central Riyadh’s Al-Olaya district were evacuated two weeks earlier.
The worsening security situation prompted US embassies across the Gulf, Israel, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan to urge the Americans on Monday to exercise heightened vigilance eight months into the US-Iran war.
“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise heightened vigilance due to the complex security environment,” the security alert said, warning of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures and travel disruptions.
Noting that Riyadh’s international airport remained closed, the alert warned that “the hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly beyond that immediate area” and urged citizens to prepare contingency plans.
Vote delayed, conference postponed
As regional concerns mount, Egypt’s parliament postponed until Oct 26 a vote on authorising the armed forces to support Saudi Arabia if requested.
Lawmakers adjourned a second closed-door session on Monday to discuss President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s request for authority to back the kingdom.
While el-Sissi said on Saturday that Egypt would take “any measure” necessary to protect its Gulf allies, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party instructed its lawmakers to abstain, citing economic pressures, risks to Suez Canal revenue and insufficient information on the mission’s scope and risks.
The escalating conflict has also disrupted Saudi Arabia’s business calendar, prompting organisers on Monday to postpone the flagship Future Investment Initiative conference until 2027.
Scheduled for Oct 26-29 and informally known as “Davos in the Desert,” the 10th edition of the state-backed event was set to feature executives including Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser.
While organisers said the postponement would ensure the event delivered “the full scale, extraordinary quality, and unforgettable impact that our community has come to expect”, Semafor reported that major financial firms had privately conveyed safety concerns to Saudi Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2026