Yemen: US air strike kills dozens at migrant detention centre
A US air strike killed at least 68 African migrants in Yemen's northwestern province of Saada on Monday, in one of the deadliest attacks since Donald Trump entered the White House nearly 100 days ago.
The Yemeni Civil Defence said in a statement on Telegram that the strike, which injured around 47 people, struck a migrant detention centre that housed around 100 people.
Footage broadcast by the Houthi-aligned al-Masirah TV channel showed several dead bodies and wounded people at the site, as medical and rescue workers tended to the wounded.
There was no immediate comment from the US, but a statement issued by the US military's Central Command before the attack said Washington's "intense and sustained campaign" since 15 March had struck more than 800 targets and "killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders, including senior Houthi missile and UAV officials".
Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, has been ravaged since 2014 by an ongoing conflict between Houthi rebels who control most of the north and Yemeni factions in the south who are backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
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The migrant detention centre that was hit on Monday was holding about 100 people from Ethiopia and other African countries who had been detained while crossing Yemen in a bid to seek work in Saudi Arabia.
In 2022, a strike by the Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis hit a detention centre killing 66 detainees, according to a United Nations report.
US forces say they are targeting the Houthis because of the group's attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, and on Israel. The Houthis say they launched their attacks on Red Sea shipping linked to Israel in retaliation against Israel’s war on Gaza.
On 18 April, a US strike on Yemen's Ras Isa fuel port killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others in the deadliest-known attack to date by the US on Yemen.
Despite this, Houthi forces continue to launch missiles at Israel and US vessels in the Red Sea, as well as US military drones.
The increase in US attacks also comes as Trump intensifies efforts to pressure Iran - the main supporter of the Houthis - into agreeing to a new deal on its nuclear capabilities.
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