Suspected U.S. Airstrike Kills At Least 68 at Migrant Detention Center in Yemen
April 28, 2025 — At least 68 people have been killed after a suspected U.S. airstrike struck a migrant detention center in Yemen’s northern Saada province, according to Houthi-controlled television and reports by Reuters.
Footage from the aftermath showed dust-covered corpses, blood-stained rubble, and rescue workers scrambling to reach survivors trapped beneath the debris. One man was seen barely moving on a stretcher, while another survivor called out for his mother in Amharic, the primary language of Ethiopia.
The center, which reportedly held more than 100 undocumented African migrants, is situated along a key smuggling route used by migrants hoping to reach Saudi Arabia. Houthi spokesperson Muhammad Abdul Salam condemned the strike as a “brutal crime” in a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter).
The U.S. military has not yet responded to requests for comment. It has previously stated it does not disclose operational details for security reasons.
This latest strike is among the deadliest in over six weeks of intensified U.S. operations targeting Houthi forces, who have been attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea in claimed support for Palestinian causes.
Mounting Civilian Toll and International Alarm
Earlier this month, a U.S. strike on a Red Sea fuel terminal reportedly killed at least 74 people, making it the deadliest known U.S. strike in Yemen to date. Rights groups have raised alarm over the growing civilian death toll.
Three Democratic U.S. senators have formally requested Defense Secretary Pete Hexet provide a full accounting of civilian casualties linked to the recent campaign in Yemen.
Reuters was able to verify the location of the latest strike by comparing visual details from footage with satellite imagery, confirming the site is the same detention center that was previously bombed in a Saudi-led airstrike in 2022.
A Conflict That Traps the Most Vulnerable
Yemen has endured over a decade of civil war between Iran-backed Houthi forces and the internationally recognized government, supported by a Saudi-led coalition. Although a truce had paused much of the violence for two years, renewed U.S. airstrikes and border clashes now threaten to reignite full-scale conflict.
Caught in the middle are thousands of African migrants, many from Ethiopia and Somalia, who risk the treacherous route through Yemen to reach Saudi Arabia. According to the International Organization for Migration, over 500 people drowned in the Red Sea last year while attempting the crossing.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, currently hosts an estimated 750,000 Ethiopians, many working in low-paid or undocumented jobs. As regional tensions escalate, the plight of these migrants—trapped between conflict zones and closed borders—grows increasingly dire.
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