Zürcher Nachrichten - Migrants' dreams buried under rubble after deadly strike on Yemen centre

EUR -
AED 4.244928
AFN 81.485785
ALL 98.662904
AMD 443.576589
ANG 2.06857
AOA 1059.932354
ARS 1366.573702
AUD 1.768412
AWG 2.083454
AZN 1.964821
BAM 1.952058
BBD 2.332708
BDT 141.304017
BGN 1.955852
BHD 0.435958
BIF 3400.567349
BMD 1.155869
BND 1.479177
BOB 8.000732
BRL 6.348727
BSD 1.155275
BTN 99.356398
BWP 15.425563
BYN 3.780919
BYR 22655.037404
BZD 2.320671
CAD 1.568197
CDF 3325.435533
CHF 0.9396
CLF 0.028202
CLP 1082.314678
CNY 8.298852
CNH 8.306626
COP 4739.641881
CRC 582.37857
CUC 1.155869
CUP 30.630535
CVE 110.529999
CZK 24.801518
DJF 205.421594
DKK 7.458385
DOP 68.484699
DZD 150.491806
EGP 58.082059
ERN 17.338039
ETB 155.242365
FJD 2.589436
FKP 0.850046
GBP 0.852535
GEL 3.149755
GGP 0.850046
GHS 11.876606
GIP 0.850046
GMD 82.641868
GNF 10005.204706
GTQ 8.878903
GYD 241.708747
HKD 9.073226
HNL 30.225936
HRK 7.536498
HTG 151.18887
HUF 402.870177
IDR 18830.150451
ILS 4.049183
IMP 0.850046
INR 99.673497
IQD 1514.188724
IRR 48673.654267
ISK 143.582531
JEP 0.850046
JMD 184.401298
JOD 0.819495
JPY 167.471619
KES 149.280303
KGS 101.080427
KHR 4646.594829
KMF 491.817871
KPW 1040.288268
KRW 1578.483917
KWD 0.3538
KYD 0.962763
KZT 592.459159
LAK 25056.358314
LBP 103565.884911
LKR 347.86016
LRD 230.769196
LSL 20.597679
LTL 3.412982
LVL 0.699174
LYD 6.270548
MAD 10.544421
MDL 19.756299
MGA 5126.280098
MKD 61.534809
MMK 2426.115055
MNT 4140.864031
MOP 9.341474
MRU 45.853624
MUR 52.488243
MVR 17.806183
MWK 2006.588849
MXN 21.898296
MYR 4.905543
MZN 73.918232
NAD 20.598033
NGN 1784.269097
NIO 41.954267
NOK 11.44214
NPR 158.970636
NZD 1.904086
OMR 0.444413
PAB 1.155295
PEN 4.164021
PGK 4.764381
PHP 65.577107
PKR 327.228895
PLN 4.274
PYG 9216.25316
QAR 4.207944
RON 5.023173
RSD 117.227113
RUB 90.61625
RWF 1647.113689
SAR 4.336629
SBD 9.648492
SCR 16.960704
SDG 694.098549
SEK 10.971355
SGD 1.481483
SHP 0.908332
SLE 25.689224
SLL 24238.004584
SOS 660.581104
SRD 44.779507
STD 23924.159894
SVC 10.108971
SYP 15028.492747
SZL 20.598172
THB 37.654175
TJS 11.703718
TMT 4.045542
TND 3.37803
TOP 2.707164
TRY 45.513622
TTD 7.843033
TWD 34.116644
TZS 2991.311042
UAH 48.034882
UGX 4165.015869
USD 1.155869
UYU 47.241076
UZS 14714.215933
VES 118.091759
VND 30142.180505
VUV 138.605241
WST 3.180697
XAF 654.707622
XAG 0.031724
XAU 0.000342
XCD 3.123794
XDR 0.8175
XOF 653.065815
XPF 119.331742
YER 280.818382
ZAR 20.595978
ZMK 10404.190789
ZMW 28.016536
ZWL 372.189429
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Migrants' dreams buried under rubble after deadly strike on Yemen centre
Migrants' dreams buried under rubble after deadly strike on Yemen centre / Photo: - - AFP

Migrants' dreams buried under rubble after deadly strike on Yemen centre

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 centre, killing dozens of people.

Text size:

The pre-dawn attack on Monday killed more than 60 people in their sleep, the country's Huthi rebels said, attributing the raid to the US 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.

Since mid-March, Washington has conducted near-daily air strikes on the Iran-backed Huthis in a bid to stop their campaign of attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, launched in solidarity with Palestinians after the outbreak of the Gaza war.

US strikes on the rebels began under former president Joe Biden, but have resumed and intensified under his successor Donald Trump.

- 'Targeting poor migrants' -

Footage broadcast by the Huthis' Al-Masirah TV at the time of the attack showed bodies lying under the rubble as rescue teams searched for survivors.

The tragedy brought back memories of a March 2021 blaze at a Sanaa migrant centre that killed 45 people and was sparked by teargas canisters fired by Huthi forces responding to a protest.

In 2022, air strikes blamed on a Saudi-led coalition battling the Huthis hit the same detention complex that was struck on Monday, killing dozens of people.

Each year, tens of thousands of migrants cross the Red Sea from the Horn of Africa, fleeing conflict, natural disasters and poor economic prospects.

Many hope for employment as labourers or domestic workers in Saudi Arabia and other wealthy Gulf countries, though they first face a perilous journey through war-torn Yemen.

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 Huthis, 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.

Before they could, however, the intensified US campaign resumed, hitting more than 1,000 targets in rebel-held Yemen since March 15. The Huthi's attacks since then have only targeted US 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".

- 'Alarming' civilian deaths -

Asked about the strike, a US defence official told AFP the army was aware of reports of civilian casualties "and we take those claims very seriously".

"We are currently conducting our battle-damage assessment and inquiry into those claims," they said on condition of anonymity .

The United Nations expressed deep concern at Monday's strike, while Niku Jafarnia of Human Rights Watch said US attacks "are appearing to kill and injure civilians in Yemen at an alarming rate over the past month".

"Failing to take all feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law," HRW said.

E.Leuenberger--NZN