SANAA, Yemen — The surveillance video released Dec. 11 of the hospital attack in Yemen’s capital was received with dejection and incredulity. The barbarism inflicted on unarmed civilians in the hospital inside the Ministry of Defense complex shattered all projections of a stable Yemen.

One of the assailants shown in the video was disguised in a military uniform, brazenly shooting nurses who were pleading for help, and then scurrying to the hallway of the hospital to kill doctors and patients in cold blood. His moves were robotic, like a senseless machine from a horror movie.

The release of the closed circuit television (CCTV) footage infuriated many Yemenis mourning their dead. That this mayhem was belligerently constructed to shatter the state authority confronted the public with the brutal reality of political brinksmanship. While initial reactions assumed al-Qaeda was behind the attack, this has the flair of sectarian revenge and political payback. More attention needs to be paid to the treacherous alliances between the former regime that has gripping, bureaucratic loyalty, and the different local and regional political actors in Yemen.

The attack came just a week after Yemeni news outlets reported the kidnapping of 10 patients who had been transported from Dammaj to the military hospital. Reports described Houthis entering the hospital camouflaged in army uniforms to carry out their mission. There were no reports of an investigation, or precautions taken to fortify security after these events. These operations show an aptitude in evading detection and avoiding widespread security barriers and checkpoints, which suggests that elements within the government are possibly complicit in the attacks.