Yemen: Houthis report bloody US attack on migrant camp

28.04.2025 April 28, 2025

The US military is attempting to push back the Houthi militia in Yemen with ongoing air strikes. But now, numerous migrants from Africa are reportedly dead in an attack.

According to the Houthi militia, at least 68 bodies have been recovered following a suspected US airstrike in Yemen . The victims were African migrants, reported the Houthi-controlled television station Al-Masirah. They were housed in an internment camp in the northern province of Saada. 47 people sustained injuries there.

Al-Masirah reported that the US attack caused "massive damage" to the facility. Rescuers were therefore having difficulty reaching victims under the rubble. The TV station showed images of a completely destroyed house, with body parts and injured people lying under the rubble. The militia-controlled Interior Ministry called it a "heinous crime" by the United States. The camp was under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Red Cross.

The Houthis' statements could not be independently verified, and the US military has not yet issued a statement.

Hundreds of Houthi fighters killed

In mid-March, the US launched a massive military operation to end Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Since then, more than 800 targets in the Arab country have been attacked, killing "hundreds" of Houthi fighters—including several leaders—according to the US Central Command (Centcom). Several of the militia's command and control facilities, air defense systems, and weapons production and storage facilities have also been destroyed. The risk to civilians in the attacks is being "reduced to a minimum," Centcom assured.

Red Sea 2025 | Fighter jets on the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman — In action against the Houthis: US fighter jets on an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea (archive photo) Image: US Navy/AP/picture alliance

The attacks on commercial and military vessels have been taking place since the beginning of the war in the Palestinian Gaza Strip about a year and a half ago. The pro-Iranian militia also regularly carries out rocket attacks on Israel .

The Houthis claim to be acting in solidarity with Hamas , which rules the Gaza Strip. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel, and numerous other states, including Germany. Hamas's unprecedented major attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, marked the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War.

wa/sti/pg (dpa, afp, rtr)