Dozens of people were killed in an attack on a migrant facility in Houthi-controlled northern Yemen, the Iran-backed militia and aid officials said on Monday.
The Houthi militia said that an American strike hit what they called a migrant center in Saada, killing at least 68 African migrants. The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the claim.
The attack came hours after the U.S. military said that American forces had conducted more than 800 strikes in Yemen since mid-March in a campaign against the Houthis. It said the campaign targeted “multiple command-and-control facilities, air defense systems, advanced weapons manufacturing facilities and advanced weapons storage locations” — but made no mention of civilian casualties.
Houthi officials have said that more than 100 civilians have been killed, and condemned the latest strike as a “heinous crime against African migrants.”
The Houthis and the U.S. military have made competing claims about who was responsible for civilian deaths in recent strikes. Last week, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command said that an explosion on April 20 that killed 12 people in the Yemeni capital had been caused by a misfired Houthi missile, not an American strike as the Houthis had claimed.
On Monday, graphic footage broadcast by the Houthi-controlled al-Masirah news channel showed bodies scattered amid the rubble in Saada. In addition to the dozens who were killed, at least 40 migrants were injured, according to two aid officials in Yemen who spoke on the condition of anonymity while they further verified the circumstances of the attack.
Each year, tens of thousands of African migrants attempt the perilous journey across the narrow strait separating the Horn of Africa from the Arabian Peninsula, hoping to reach wealthy Gulf States north of Yemen. Nearly 60,900 migrants have arrived in Yemen in 2024 alone, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Over the past year, the Houthis have launched rockets and drones at Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea, saying their actions are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The United States intensified a bombing campaign against the Houthis starting on March 15, under orders from President Trump, who has vowed to continue military operations until the Houthis no longer pose a threat.
