When sirens blared in the middle of the night and the ground shook beneath them, Fanta Ali Ahmed and over a hundred others cowered in fear within a dilapidated prison. This group of Ethiopian migrants had fled a violent civil war in their homeland, only to find themselves caught in the line of fire in Saada, Yemen. The attack on their detention center on April 28 unleashed U.S.-made bombs, annihilating lives and leaving many, including Fanta, critically injured.
Fanta, 32, a resident of Tigray, escaped with two broken legs and a fractured arm. As chaos unfolded, he initially feared he was the sole survivor, only to later discover that ten others perished in the onslaught. "The place and everyone in it were mangled," Fanta mourned. The aftermath revealed horrific wounds among his fellow detainees, with severed limbs and flesh shredded by the blast. Confusion reigns in the wake of the attack, with survivors questioning why U.S. military action inadvertently targeted vulnerable asylum seekers.
The bombing occurred during a sustained air campaign against Houthi forces, who are seen as a threat by the U.S. and their allies. For weeks prior, Fanta had been awoken by the sounds of airstrikes nearby, making it seem like combat was drawing closer every day. The U.N. has noted that over 60,000 migrants from the Horn of Africa traveled to Yemen in search of safety in 2024, yet many find themselves in dire circumstances, now facing violence rather than refuge.
In the silence that followed the explosion, the survivors were left grappling with the reasons behind such a tragedy. Without the necessary support or acknowledgment by authorities, they now live in fear of future attacks while continuing to seek safe passage, echoing a tragic reminder of the consequences of war in a region that has already witnessed too much suffering.
Fanta, 32, a resident of Tigray, escaped with two broken legs and a fractured arm. As chaos unfolded, he initially feared he was the sole survivor, only to later discover that ten others perished in the onslaught. "The place and everyone in it were mangled," Fanta mourned. The aftermath revealed horrific wounds among his fellow detainees, with severed limbs and flesh shredded by the blast. Confusion reigns in the wake of the attack, with survivors questioning why U.S. military action inadvertently targeted vulnerable asylum seekers.
The bombing occurred during a sustained air campaign against Houthi forces, who are seen as a threat by the U.S. and their allies. For weeks prior, Fanta had been awoken by the sounds of airstrikes nearby, making it seem like combat was drawing closer every day. The U.N. has noted that over 60,000 migrants from the Horn of Africa traveled to Yemen in search of safety in 2024, yet many find themselves in dire circumstances, now facing violence rather than refuge.
In the silence that followed the explosion, the survivors were left grappling with the reasons behind such a tragedy. Without the necessary support or acknowledgment by authorities, they now live in fear of future attacks while continuing to seek safe passage, echoing a tragic reminder of the consequences of war in a region that has already witnessed too much suffering.
