Amnesty International is calling for a potential war crime investigation into a US airstrike in Yemen that killed more than 60 African migrants, mainly Ethiopians, held in a prison run by Houthi rebels.

This request from the human rights organization has revived the investigation into the attack that occurred on April 28 in Saada province. Kristine Beckerle, deputy director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa program, stated that the strike on the migrant detention center was an "indiscriminate attack" and should be investigated as a war crime.

Amnesty International's investigation also highlighted the Houthis' behavior. After an airstrike nearby, just minutes before it hit the detention center, the detained migrants approached the gate to plead with the guards to let them out. However, "instead of letting them out, the Houthi guards fired warning shots into the air, and then, almost immediately afterward, the US airstrikes hit the detention center," explained Kristine Beckerle. The NGO also noted that the Houthis were subjecting these people to abusive detention conditions.

This attack is part of an intense campaign of air strikes led by US President Donald Trump against rebels who are disrupting maritime transport in the Red Sea corridor, in connection with the war between Israel and Hamas.

Kristine Beckerle highlighted the plight of the victims: "You're talking about people who left Ethiopia and went to Yemen because they were trying to reach the Gulf, often to send money to their families. And now, many of them have to ask their families to send them money in Yemen to cope with the consequences of their injuries."

The U.S. Central Command has not yet provided any explanation for the strike targeting the prison. The site had previously been bombed by the Saudi-led coalition also fighting the Houthis, and was notoriously used to detain African migrants in transit to Saudi Arabia through the war zone.