Houthi Media Claims Dozens of African Migrants Killed in US Strike on Yemen Detention Centre
US Strike Kills Migrants in Yemen, Houthis Say
Houthi-run media outlets are reporting that at least 68 African migrants were killed in a US air strike that hit a detention centre in the Houthi-controlled north-western Saada province of Yemen.
The Houthi TV channel, Al Masirah, stated that an additional 47 migrants sustained injuries, many of them critical, when the facility in Saada province was bombed. The channel broadcast graphic footage purportedly showing numerous bodies amidst the debris of a collapsed building.
As of this report, there has been no immediate statement from the US military regarding the alleged air strike.
However, the claim comes hours after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that its forces had conducted strikes on over 800 targets in Yemen since President Donald Trump ordered an intensification of the air campaign against the Houthi group on March 15.
CENTCOM further stated that these strikes had resulted in the deaths of “hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders,” including high-ranking officials overseeing the group’s missile and drone programs.
Houthi authorities have previously reported that the US-led strikes have killed dozens of civilians, though they have reported relatively few casualties among their own fighters.
According to reports from Houthi-run sources, the migrant detention centre in Saada was housing approximately 115 African migrants at the time it was hit on Sunday night.
Despite the severe humanitarian crisis in Yemen, which has been ongoing for 11 years due to the conflict, migrants from the Horn of Africa continue to arrive in the country by boat. The majority of these migrants reportedly intend to cross into neighbouring Saudi Arabia in search of employment.
However, these migrants often face perilous conditions, including exploitation, detention, violence, and dangerous journeys through active conflict zones, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The IOM reports that in 2024 alone, nearly 60,900 migrants arrived in Yemen, often without the means to support themselves. The alleged US strike on the detention centre highlights the vulnerable situation of these migrants caught in the ongoing conflict.
