Yemen’s Houthi rebels allege U.S. airstrike hit prison holding African migrants

Yemen's Houthi rebels allege U.S. airstrike hit African migrant prison; U.S. military silent amid escalating tensions.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Monday (April 28, 2025) alleged that a U.S. airstrike hit a prison holding African migrants. The U.S. military had no immediate comment.

The strike happened in Yemen’s Saada governorate, a stronghold for the Houthis. Graphic footage aired by their al-Masirah satellite news channel showed what appeared to be dead bodies and others wounded from an explosion at the site. Casualty figures weren’t immediately clear.

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The U.S. military’s Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

The alleged strike comes amid an intensified airstrike campaign by the Trump administration targeting the rebels as it tries to negotiate with their main benefactor, Iran, over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme.

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.

Migrants from Ethiopia have found themselves detained, abused and even killed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen during the war. An October 3, 2022, letter to the kingdom from the U.N. said its investigators “received 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.” Saudi Arabia has denied killing migrants.