By Agence France-Presse
Africans in search of a better future became the latest casualties of Yemen’s decade-long conflict after a deadly strike blamed on the United States hit a migrant detention center, killing dozens of people.
The pre-dawn attack on Monday, April 28, killed more than 60 people in their sleep, the country’s Houthi rebels said, attributing the raid to the U.S. military.
Rubble, blood, and body parts dotted the grounds of the compound in rebel-held Saada, with several buildings left in ruins, twisted metal glittering in the sun.
In a nearby hospital, emaciated African men were recovering from their wounds after surviving the attack that tore their friends to pieces.
“The planes struck close by twice. The third time they hit us,” said Abed Ibrahim Saleh, 34, a soft-spoken Ethiopian whose head and leg were wrapped in white gauze.
“Dead bodies ripped apart, I can’t describe what I saw… A hand here, a leg there. I don’t want to remember,” he said with a blank stare.
‘Targeting poor migrants’
The tragedy brought back memories of a March 2021 blaze at a Sanaa migrant center that killed 45 people and was sparked by tear gas canisters fired by Houthi forces responding to a protest.
In 2022, air strikes blamed on a Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis hit the same detention complex that was struck on Monday, April 28, killing dozens of people.
Inspecting the wreckage, Ibrahim Abdul Qadir Mohammed Al-Moallem, a member of Yemen’s Somali community, denounced the “heinous crime” against innocent people.
“This brutal aggression that killed the sons of Palestine and the Yemeni people is now targeting poor migrants,” he said, blaming the United States for the attack.
The Houthis, who have also repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Israel, paused their attacks during a recent two-month ceasefire in Gaza but had threatened to resume them after Israel cut off aid to the territory over an impasse in negotiations.
However, before they could, the intensified U.S. campaign resumed, hitting more than 1,000 targets in rebel-held Yemen since March 15. Since then, Houthi’s attacks have only targeted U.S. warships.
“There is no justification for this,” Moallem said, calling on African leaders to take a stance and urging the international community to “break your silence”.
