Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels on Monday alleged a US airstrike hit a prison holding African migrants, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others. The US military had no immediate comment. <\/p>\n
The strike in Yemen\u2019s Saada governorate, a stronghold for the Houthis, is the latest incident in the country\u2019s decadelong war to kill African migrants from Ethiopia and other nations who risk crossing the nation for a chance to work in neighboring Saudi Arabia. <\/p>\n
It also likely will renew questions from activists about the American campaign, known as \u201cOperation Rough Rider,\u201d which has been targeting the rebels as the Trump administration negotiates with their main benefactor, Iran, over Tehran\u2019s rapidly advancing nuclear program. <\/p>\n
The US military\u2019s Central Command, in a statement early Monday before news of the alleged strike broke, sought to defend its policy of offering no specific details of its extensive airstrike campaign. The strikes have drawn controversy in America over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s use of the unclassified Signal messaging app to post sensitive details about the attacks. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo preserve operational security, we have intentionally limited disclosing details of our ongoing or future operations,\u201d Central Command said. \u201cWe are very deliberate in our operational approach, but will not reveal specifics about what we\u2019ve done or what we will do.\u201d <\/p>\n
It did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press about the alleged strike in Saada. <\/p>\n
Graphic footage aired by the Houthis\u2019 al-Masirah satellite news channel showed what appeared to be dead bodies and others wounded at the site. The Houthi-run Interior Ministry said some 115 migrants had been detained at the site. <\/p>\n
The rebels\u2019 Civil Defense organization said at least 68 people had been killed and 47 others wounded in the attack. <\/p>\n
Footage from the site analyzed by the AP suggested some kind of explosion took place there, with its cement walls seemingly peppered by debris fragments and the wounds suffered by those there. <\/p>\n
A woman\u2019s voice, soft in the footage, can be heard repeating the start of a prayer in Arabic: \u201cIn the name of God.\u201d An occasional gunshot rang out as medics sought to help those wounded. <\/p>\n
Ethiopians and other African migrants for years have landed in Yemen, braving the war-torn nation to try and reach Saudi Arabia for work. The Houthi rebels allegedly make tens of thousands of dollars a week smuggling migrants over the border. <\/p>\n
Migrants from Ethiopia have found themselves detained, abused and even killed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen during the war. An Oct. 3, 2022, letter to the kingdom from the U.N. said its investigators \u201creceived 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.\u201d <\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia has denied killing migrants. <\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s alleged strike recalled a similar strike by a Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis back in 2022 on the same compound, which caused a collapse killing 66 detainees and wounding 113 others, a United Nations report later said. The Houthis shot dead 16 detainees who fled after the strike and wounded another 50, the U.N. said. The Saudi-led coalition sought to justify the strike by saying the Houthis built and launched drones there, but the U.N. said it was known to be a detention facility. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe coalition should have avoided any attack on that facility,\u201d the U.N. report added. <\/p>\n
That 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\u2019s international airport. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, US airstrikes overnight targeting Yemen\u2019s capital killed at least eight people, the Houthis said. The American military acknowledged carrying out over 800 individual strikes in their monthlong campaign. <\/p>\n
The overnight statement from Central Command also said \u201cOperation Rough Rider\u201d had \u201ckilled hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders,\u201d including those associated with its missile and drone program. It did not identify any of those officials. <\/p>\n
\u201cIran undoubtedly continues to provide support to the Houthis,\u201d the statement said. \u201cThe Houthis can only continue to attack our forces with the backing of the Iranian regime.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d it added. <\/p>\n
The US is targeting the Houthis because of the group\u2019s 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\u2019s self-described \u201cAxis of Resistance\u201d that is capable of regularly attacking Israel. <\/p>\n
The US is conducting strikes on Yemen from its two aircraft carriers in the region \u2014 the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea and the USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea. <\/p>\n
On April 18, an American strike on the Ras Isa fuel port killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others in the deadliest-known attack of the American campaign. Central Command on Monday offered an explanation for why it hit the port. <\/p>\n
\u201cUS 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,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Houthis have increasingly sought to control the flow of information from the territory they hold to the outside world. It issued a notice Sunday that all those holding Starlink satellite internet receivers should \u201cquickly hand over\u201d the devices to authorities. <\/p>\n
\u201cA field campaign will be implemented in coordination with the security authorities to arrest anyone who sells, trades, uses, operates, installs or possesses these prohibited terminals,\u201d the Houthis warned. <\/p>\n
Starlink terminals have been crucial for Ukraine in fighting Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion and receivers also have been smuggled into Iran amid unrest there. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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