Houthi rebels say 68 dead in US air strike that hit Yemen jail holding migrants

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have alleged that a US air strike hit a prison holding African migrants, killing at least 68 people and injuring 47 others.

The US military made no immediate comment.

The strike in Yemen’s Saada governorate, a stronghold for the Houthis, is the latest incident in the country’s decade-long war to kill migrants from Ethiopia and other African nations who risk crossing the nation for a chance to work in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

It is also likely to renew questions from activists about the American campaign, known as Operation Rough Rider, which has been targeting the rebels as Donald Trump’s administration negotiates with their main benefactor, Iran, over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme.

The US military’s Central Command, in a statement early on Monday before news of the alleged strike broke, sought to defend its policy of offering no specific details of its extensive air strike campaign.

The strikes have drawn controversy in America over Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the unclassified Signal messaging app to post sensitive details about the attacks.

“To preserve operational security, we have intentionally limited disclosing details of our ongoing or future operations,” Central Command said. “We are very deliberate in our operational approach, but will not reveal specifics about what we’ve done or what we will do.”

It did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press about the alleged strike in Saada.

Graphic footage aired by the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel showed what appeared to be bodies and other casualties at the site. The Houthi-run Interior Ministry said some 115 migrants had been detained at the site.

The rebels’ Civil Defence organisation said at least 68 people had been killed and 47 others injured in the attack.

Footage from the site analysed by the AP suggested some kind of explosion took place there, with its cement walls seemingly peppered by fragments of debris.

A woman’s voice can be heard repeating the start of a prayer in Arabic: “In the name of God.” An occasional gunshot rang out as medics sought to help those wounded.

Ethiopians and other African migrants have been landing in Yemen for years, braving the war-torn nation to try to reach Saudi Arabia for work. The Houthi rebels allegedly make tens of thousands of dollars a week smuggling migrants over the border.

Migrants from Ethiopia have found themselves detained, abused and even killed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen during the war.

A letter to the kingdom from the UN on October 3 2022 said investigators had “received concerning allegations of cross-border artillery shelling and small arms fire allegedly by Saudi security forces, causing the deaths of up to 430 and injuring 650 migrants”.

Saudi Arabia has denied killing migrants.

Monday’s alleged strike recalled a similar strike by a Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis on the same compound in 2022, in which 66 detainees were killed and 113 others injured, a United Nations report later said.

The Houthis shot dead 16 detainees who fled after the strike and wounded another 50, the UN said.

The Saudi-led coalition sought to justify the strike by saying the Houthis built and launched drones there, but the UN said it was known to be a detention facility.

“The coalition should have avoided any attack on that facility,” the UN report added.

The 2022 attack was one of the deadliest single attacks in the years-long war between the coalition and the Houthi rebels and came after the Houthis struck inside the UAE twice with missiles and drones, killing three in a strike near Abu Dhabi’s international airport.

Meanwhile, US air strikes overnight targeting Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, killed at least eight people, the Houthis said.

The American military acknowledged carrying out more than 800 individual strikes in its month-long campaign.

The overnight statement from Central Command also said “Operation Rough Rider” had “killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders”, including those associated with its missile and drone programme. It did not identify any of those officials.

“Iran undoubtedly continues to provide support to the Houthis,” the statement said. “The Houthis can only continue to attack our forces with the backing of the Iranian regime.

“We will continue to ratchet up the pressure until the objective is met, which remains the restoration of freedom of navigation and American deterrence in the region.”

The US is targeting the Houthis because of the group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on Israel.

The Houthis are also the last militant group in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” that is capable of regularly attacking Israel.

The US is carrying out strikes on Yemen from its two aircraft carriers in the region – the USS Harry S Truman in the Red Sea and the USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea.

On April 18, an American strike on the Ras Isa fuel port killed at least 74 people and injured 171 others in the deadliest-known attack of the American campaign.

On Monday, Central Command offered an explanation for why it hit the port.

“US strikes destroyed the ability of Ras Isa Port to accept fuel, which will begin to impact Houthi ability to not only conduct operations, but also to generate millions of dollars in revenue for their terror activities,” it said.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have increasingly sought to control the flow of information from the territory they hold to the outside world.

They issued a notice on Sunday that all those holding Starlink satellite internet receivers should “quickly hand over” the devices to authorities.

“A field campaign will be implemented in co-ordination with the security authorities to arrest anyone who sells, trades, uses, operates, installs or possesses these prohibited terminals,” they warned.

Starlink terminals have been crucial for Ukraine in fighting Russia’s full-scale invasion and receivers also have been smuggled into Iran amid unrest there.