Tuesday April 29, 2025

Mogadishu (HOL) — Somali nationals are reportedly among the dozens of African migrants killed after a U.S. airstrike struck a detention facility in northern Yemen’s Saada governorate on Monday, according to local sources and Houthi officials.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels accused the United States of carrying out the airstrike, which they say killed at least 68 people and wounded 47 others. The U.S. military has not commented on the allegation.

The prison, located in a Houthi-controlled area of Saada, was holding more than 100 African migrants at the time of the strike, according to the Houthi-run Interior Ministry.

Speaking to the BBC, Ibrahim Abdulqadir Ma’alim, a Somali resident of Yemen who visited the site after the blast, confirmed extensive damage to the facility.

“The dead are 90, and the injured are 25,” he said, though he noted that figures remain unverified. “It’s believed that three to four Somalis were among the detainees, but we don’t yet have confirmation.”

Ibrahim added that many Somalis had reportedly been transferred from the site three days before the bombing.

“The number of Somalis was small. A few days ago, many of them were moved elsewhere,” he said.

He expressed concern for the safety of Somali migrants caught trying to cross into Saudi Arabia, saying local communities in Yemen try to track their whereabouts and well-being.

“We’re closely monitoring migrants. Many are injured or killed as they attempt to cross the Saudi border,” he said. “If Somalis are caught, they’re often handed over to Yemeni authorities to prevent further casualties.”

Footage broadcast by Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV showed graphic images of dead and wounded individuals at the site. While the Houthi claim has not been independently verified, humanitarian groups have previously raised alarm over the conditions in which African migrants are detained in Yemen.