WUKRO, Ethiopia (Dispatches) -- A year after a U.S. airstrike killed dozens of Ethiopian migrants in a detention center in northwestern Yemen, grieving families in the remote highlands of Tigray are still waiting for justice, their lives shattered by a tragedy that left them without their sons and breadwinners.
On 28 April 2025, a U.S. airstrike hit a migrant detention facility in Saada, Yemen, killing at least 68 African migrants, all Ethiopian men mostly in their early twenties, and injuring 47 others. The attack, part of “Operation Rough Rider” launched by President Donald Trump’s administration, was condemned by Amnesty International as an indiscriminate attack that should be investigated as a war crime.
Hiwot Mehari, 24, was one of the dozens killed. The day before the strike, his parents spoke with him. “They will release us soon and we will reunite,” their son had said. The next day, his father received the news from a neighbor. 
“As a parent, it was very hard to accept,” Mehari Akeza told Middle East Eye. His mother, Mebrat Gebre, wept as she asked: “America killed my son, my pride, why? I have never heard of a government killing prisoners for no reason.”
Tsiruy Hailu, 22, was another victim. The eldest of four children, he became the family’s primary breadwinner after his father died. His mother said: “My soul is broken, he was my all. He wasn’t only my son, but also the one who carried the burden of the family.” 
She later saw graphic footage showing crushed bodies under rubble. “Sometimes, I picture my son lying with his body dismembered,” she told MEE.
Survivors of the strike have been left with permanent disabilities. Haben Tuemzgi, 27, sustained serious injuries to both legs and hands. 
“Trump’s America has made all my dreams evaporate into thin air,” he said. “When I left my home, I had two legs and now I have to go back on a stretcher.” 
Haile Wolday, 25, who suffered wounds to his leg and hand, added: “I have no future to see. I came here to make money and feed my family but now people are feeding me.”
Amnesty International has concluded that the facility’s civilian nature was widely known, having been used for years to detain migrants and visited by humanitarian organizations. Despite calls for investigation, the U.S. has failed to hold anyone accountable or provide information about the probe.
“The world seems to have forgotten our children’s death. We want compensation,” said Mehari Akeza, Hiwot’s father.