Houthis vow to continue fighting after dozens of migrants die in airstrike

Yemen's Houthi rebels have vowed to continue attacks in the Red and Arabian seas hours after a suspected US strike targeting the militia killed dozens of African migrants.

- Patrick Wintour Jason Burke Jerusalem

The airstrike struck a detention centre holding more than a hundred African migrants in the city of Saada, killing 68 and injuring 47, according to the Houthis.

The Iran-aligned rebel group, which governs north-west Yemen, said the shelter was under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Red Cross, and targeting it "constitutes a full-fledged war crime".

There was no confirmation of the number of casualties in the airstrike but the IOM, a United Nations agency, said many people were believed to have been killed or injured, and described the loss of life at the prison as a tragedy.

"It is imperative that all efforts are made to avoid harm to civilians and to protect those most vulnerable in these challenging circumstances," it said. The US military had no immediate comment.

The US has been conducting near-daily strikes against the Houthis since 15 March in an operation known as "Rough Rider", seeking to end the threat the rebels pose to vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.