ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A barrage of US airstrikes struck Yemen on Monday, with Houthi rebels reporting that at least one missile hit a detention center for migrants in Saada, killing at least 68 detainees.

Houthi media channel Al-Masirah TV first reported the incident, stating that "the civil defense has announced that 68 African migrants were killed and 47 others wounded in the US attack targeting a center for illegal migrants in the city of Saada.”

The Houthi’s Interior Ministry reported that the facility in question was housing roughly 115 migrants who had been detained after entering the country illegally.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) notes that every year, tens of thousands of African migrants take the so-called “Eastern Route,” seeking to migrate to the wealthy Gulf countries in search of employment and safety, with many risking crossing war-ravaged Yemen to this end.

The IOM says that these migrants are deeply vulnerable on this route and often “face grave human rights violations such as detention in inhumane conditions, exploitation, and forced transfers.”

In 2022 alone, the organization noted that over 1,000 migrants were injured or killed in attacks in the north of the country.

The US bombing campaign in Yemen has escalated significantly in recent months, ramping up after US President Donald Trump in mid-March opted to increase kinetic operations against the group.

The Trump administration has repeatedly linked the targeting of Houthi forces with a “maximum pressure” campaign being taken against Iran, a vital ally of the rebels, in an attempt to force Tehran into official negotiations regarding its nuclear program.

The US has cited the recurrent targeting of international shipping by the Houthis as a justification for their campaign.

Over 100 merchant vessels have been targeted by Houthi militants since November 2023, with the group targeting international shipping in response to Israel’s punitive military campaign in Gaza