Arabic version: منظمة العفو الدولية تطالب بالتحقيق في الضربة الجوية الأمريكية في اليمن

Amnesty International has called for a United States air strike on a migrant detention centre in Yemen to be investigated as a possible war crime. The strike, which occurred on April 28, 2025, targeted a facility in Saada, resulting in the deaths of at least 68 detainees and injuring 47 others. According to Al Jazeera, the detention centre had operated for years as part of a larger prison complex and had previously been visited by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations, who found no evidence the compound was being used for military purposes.

Amnesty’s report criticized the Trump administration’s approach to its air strikes in Yemen, highlighting a lack of safeguards and a disregard for civilian lives. Nadia Dar, director of Amnesty International USA, emphasized that the approach should have raised alarms both domestically and globally.

Survivors of the strike, interviewed nearly a year later, reported ongoing physical and psychological trauma, with many unable to afford necessary medical treatment. One survivor, identified as Jirata, expressed despair over his lost leg and the impact on his ability to work, urging the US government to provide any type of reparation that will help with their life in any way possible.

Following the air strike, a US defence official said the military was assessing reports of civilian casualties. However, Amnesty noted that a year later, no public findings or accountability measures had been disclosed by the US military’s Central Command. The organization described the attack as one of the deadliest incidents involving US strikes in recent years, calling for prompt, transparent and independent investigations and increased oversight from Congress regarding military operations in conflict zones.