Dubai, United Arab Emirates
AP
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Yemeni Hooty rebels claimed on Monday that US airstrikes struck an African migrant prison, killing at least 68 people and injuring 47 people. The US military did not immediately comment.
The strike of Governor Sada of Yemen, the Houtis hub, is the latest incident in the country’s decades’ war, killing African immigrants from Ethiopia and other countries.
It could also update questions from activists about the US campaign known as “Operation Roughriders,” which target rebels, as the Trump administration is negotiating a rapid advancement nuclear programme with Iran, the main benefactors.
The US military’s central commander sought to defend a policy that would not provide specific details of its extensive airstrike campaign in a statement earlier on Monday before news of alleged strikes were broken. The strike sparked controversy in the US, using Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses, an uncategorized signal messaging app to post sensitive details about the attack.
“We intentionally limit disclosure of details of ongoing or future operations to maintain operational security,” Central Command said. “We are very cautious in our operational approach, but we don’t reveal any details about what we did or what we do.”
On Monday, the military said the central headquarters “aware of the claims of civilian casualties related to the US strike in Yemen and take those claims very seriously.”
“We are currently conducting a survey of combat damages and investigating those claims,” it added.
Graphic footage aired by the Al-Masirah Satellite News Channel in Houthis showed what appeared to have been corpses and others injured at the scene. The Houthi-run Home Ministry said 115 migrants were in detention at the location.
Rebel civil defense agencies said at least 68 people were killed and 47 were injured in the attack.
Footage from the site, analyzed by the Associated Press, suggests that some kind of explosion had occurred, with the cement wall appearing to be scattered with debris, and the wounds were exposed to those there.
The soft female voices in the footage can be heard repeatedly at the beginning of the Arabic prayer. “In the name of God.” Occasionally gunshots were heard as doctors tried to help the injured.
Ethiopians and other African immigrants have landed in Yemen for many years, and have given courage to a war-torn country and have tried to reach Saudi Arabia for work. Houthi rebels are said to have made tens of thousands of dollars a week smuggling immigrants across the border.
Immigrants from Ethiopia found themselves detained, abused and even killed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen during the war. On October 3, 2022, a letter from the UN to the Kingdom said that the investigators were “received regarding allegations of cross-border artillery fire and allegations of small arms allegedly suspected by Saudi security forces, causing deaths of up to 430 people and injuring 650 migrants.”
Saudi Arabia has denied the murder of migrants.
The suspect on Monday reminded me of a similar strike in 2022 by a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houtis with the same compound. Houthis fled after the strike and shot 16 detainees who injured 50 more people, the UN said. The Saudi-led coalition attempted to justify the strike by saying that Houthis built and launched a drone there, but said the UN is known to be a detention facility.
“The Union should have avoided attacks on the facility,” the UN report added.
That 2022 attack was one of the deadliest single attacks in a long-standing war between the Union and Houthi rebels, coming after the Houthis attacked twice within the UAE with missiles and drones, killing three people on a strike near Abu Dhabi’s international airport.
Meanwhile, U.S. airstrikes targeting Yemen’s capital killed at least eight people, Houthis said. The US military has allowed more than 800 individual strikes to be carried out in the one-month campaign.
An overnight statement from the Central Command said the “Operation Roughrider” “has killed hundreds of Hooty fighters and numerous Hooty leaders,” including those related to missile and drone programs. None of those officials were identified.
“Iran has undoubtedly continued to provide support to the Houtis,” the statement said. “Hoouthis can continue to attack our troops with the support of the Iranian regime.”
“We will continue to raise the pressure until our objectives are met, which continues to maintain the restoration of freedom of navigation in the region and American deterrence,” he added.
The US is targeting Houthis for its transport in the Red Sea, important world trade routes, and group attacks on Israel. Houthis is also the last extremist group in Iran’s self-descriptive “axis of resistance” and is able to attack Israel regularly.
The US has been struggling to Yemen from two aircraft carriers: USS Harry S. Truman of the Red Sea and USS Carl Vinson of the Arabian Sea.
On April 18, an American strike at the RAS ISA fueled port killed at least 74 people and injured 171 in the most deadly attacks of the American campaign. Monday’s Central Command provided an explanation of why it hit the port.
“The US strike has destroyed the port of Ras Isa’s ability to accept fuel. This will begin to affect its ability to not only operate, but also generate millions of dollars in revenue for terrorist activities,” he said.
Meanwhile, Houthis is increasingly trying to control the flow of information from the territory they have in the outside world. A notice was issued on Sunday that all people who own Starlink Satellite Internet receivers must “quickly hand over” their devices to authorities.
“The field campaign will be carried out in conjunction with security authorities to arrest anyone who sells, trades, uses, operates, installs or owns these prohibited devices,” Houthis warned.
The Starlink Terminal is extremely important to Ukraine in combating the full-scale Russian invasion, and receivers are also smuggled into Iran amidst the mayhem there.