Yemen’s Houthi rebels said a suspected U.S. airstrike hit a prison holding African migrants in Saada governorate on 2025-04-28, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others, according to AP.
The AP report said the strike allegedly hit a detention site in a Houthi stronghold and that graphic footage from the rebels’ al-Masirah channel showed bodies and wounded people at the scene. The Houthi-run Interior Ministry said about 115 migrants had been detained at the site. The rebels’ civil defense service put the death toll at 68 and the number injured at 47. The U.S. military had no immediate comment when the claim first emerged, but later said it was conducting a battle-damage assessment and inquiry into the allegations.
The timing gave the incident added political weight. AP reported that Washington has been running “Operation Rough Rider” against the Houthis while also negotiating with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program. The U.S. campaign is framed as a response to Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and on Israel. The migrants’ deaths, if confirmed, would likely intensify criticism from activists who already question the scale and secrecy of the campaign.
The AP story also showed how difficult verification is in Yemen’s war. The airstrike site was in Houthi-held territory, footage came from the rebels’ own media, and the U.S. military did not immediately confirm the strike. That means the casualty figures remain the Houthi version of events for now, even though AP said the imagery suggested an explosion had taken place and casualties were visible.
The humanitarian context is severe. Ethiopians and other African migrants have long moved through Yemen trying to reach Saudi Arabia for work, despite the dangers of a war zone. The AP report noted that migrants have been detained, abused and killed in Yemen and across the border in Saudi Arabia. It also recalled a deadly 2022 strike on the same compound, which a later U.N. report said caused a collapse that killed 66 detainees and wounded 113 others.
The U.S. campaign itself has already caused significant loss of life, according to AP. The report said a strike on the Ras Isa fuel port on April 18 killed at least 74 people, while the Houthis said earlier strikes had caused at least 81 deaths in their territory. Central Command said it had conducted more than 800 individual strikes in the broader campaign and would continue ratcheting up pressure until its objectives were met.
Whether the Saada prison strike is ultimately confirmed or contested, it has already become one of the most politically charged incidents in the campaign. It combines the war in Yemen, the Red Sea shipping crisis, U.S.-Iran tensions and the vulnerability of African migrants inside one of the region’s most dangerous conflict zones.
