Photo by Alotrobo
At least 68 African migrants have been killed in a US air strike on a detention center in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Saada province, according to the armed group’s Al Masirah TV channel. Another 47 migrants were reportedly injured, most critically, after the facility was hit early Monday morning.
Graphic footage broadcast by Al Masirah showed the aftermath of the strike, with bodies buried beneath rubble in a heavily damaged building. The US military has yet to issue a statement on the incident.
The attack occurred just hours after US Central Command (Centcom) announced that its forces had struck over 800 targets since President Donald Trump ordered an escalation of the air campaign against the Houthis on March 15. Centcom reported that hundreds of Houthi fighters and several senior leaders had been killed in the strikes, which primarily targeted missile and drone operations.
However, Houthi authorities have accused US forces of killing scores of civilians while downplaying casualties among their fighters.
Al Masirah reported that the migrant facility was holding 115 detainees, mainly Ethiopians, when it was struck four times around 5:00 a.m. local time (02:00 GMT). Witnesses described a chaotic scene. Ibrahim Cabdulqaadir Macallin, chairman of the Somali community in Yemen, told the BBC the attack was “tragic and horrific,” adding that some victims were burnt beyond recognition. He noted that Somali casualties were limited, as many had been relocated days earlier.
The Houthis’ interior ministry condemned the bombing, labeling it a “deliberate attack” and a “war crime.” The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) expressed deep sorrow over the incident and called for all parties to uphold international humanitarian law. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported that Yemen Red Crescent teams were working to evacuate the wounded and handle the dead respectfully.
This is not the first time the Saada area has seen such devastation. In 2022, a Saudi-led coalition strike on a detention center nearby killed at least 66 people.
Separately, Al Masirah reported eight additional deaths in overnight US air strikes in the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa.
Centcom, while acknowledging ongoing operations, said it has intentionally withheld details to maintain operational security.
Despite Yemen’s prolonged conflict and humanitarian catastrophe, migrants from the Horn of Africa continue to arrive, often seeking passage to Saudi Arabia in search of work. Instead, they face detention, exploitation, and the dangers of an active warzone. In 2024 alone, nearly 60,900 migrants—mostly Ethiopians and Somalis—have entered Yemen, according to the IOM.
Thousands of these migrants are reportedly held in dire conditions in detention facilities across Houthi-controlled areas, though official statistics are lacking.
Earlier this month, Houthi authorities accused US forces of committing another “war crime” after an air strike on the Ras Isa oil terminal killed at least 74 people. The US maintains the terminal was a critical financial hub for Houthi military operations.
Tensions have escalated since President Trump ordered large-scale strikes on Houthi targets in recent weeks, vowing to “completely annihilate” the group and warning Iran against providing arms, a claim Tehran denies.
In response to Monday’s air strikes, Houthi forces claimed to have targeted the USS Harry S Truman battle group with missiles and drones. They also reportedly launched a drone towards Israel’s southern city of Ashkelon, though Israeli forces said they intercepted the attack.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have carried out numerous attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, sinking two ships, seizing another, and killing four sailors. They claim their actions are in solidarity with Palestinians amid the war in Gaza, although many targeted vessels had no connection to Israel, the US, or the UK.
After assuming office in January, Trump redesignated the Houthis as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” a reversal of the Biden administration’s earlier decision aimed at easing Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.
Yemen’s civil war, which intensified in 2015 after the Houthis seized much of the country’s northwest, has left over 150,000 people dead, displaced 4.8 million, and left half the population in desperate need of aid.
