The United States Air Force has carried out an airstrike on a prison facility in Yemen, resulting in the deaths of 68 people and injuries to at least 47 others.
According to a report by Yemen’s Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV, the attack took place on Sunday, April 27, in the northwestern city of Saada. Reuters, citing sources, reported that the prison housed individuals from various African countries who had illegally entered Yemen, intending to cross into wealthy Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The prison was specifically set up for African and Asian migrants caught entering Yemen illegally.
An official from Yemen’s Interior Ministry stated that there were 115 migrants in the facility, and none remained unharmed after the US airstrike.
Yemen has been engulfed in a civil war since early 2015 when Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, forced President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia. In an attempt to reinstate Hadi, a Saudi-led coalition launched military operations against the Houthis. However, the conflict only escalated, leading to a political and humanitarian crisis.
Currently, Yemen is effectively divided: the south remains under the control of the Saudi-backed government, while the north is dominated by Houthi forces. The Yemen conflict is widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Years of war have devastated the country, with over half the population suffering from severe shortages of food, medicine, and other basic necessities, according to UN reports.
Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and subsequent Israeli operations in Gaza, the Houthis began launching missile attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea in support of Hamas. Despite repeated warnings, the US began conducting airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in November 2023.