US airstrikes on Yemen's most critical civilian port infrastructure killed 84+ civilians including three children, port workers, truck drivers, and civil defense personnel. HRW found the strikes were an apparent war crime given the port's overwhelmingly civilian character and essential role in sustaining Yemen's population.
14 US airstrikes hit the Ras Issa oil terminal on April 17, 2025, killing at least 84 civilians and injuring over 150, including port workers, truck drivers, civil defense personnel, and three children.
Ras Issa is one of three ports in Hodeidah through which approximately 70% of Yemen's commercial imports and 80% of humanitarian assistance enters the country — making it indispensable civilian infrastructure.
A 53-day US bombing campaign in Yemen produced an unprecedented civilian death toll, with monitoring organizations documenting at least 224 civilian deaths — matching the previous 23 years of US civilian casualties in Yemen. Strikes hit a migrant detention center, a fuel port, and a cancer hospital.
Operation Rough Rider ran from March 15 to May 6, 2025 — 53 days of sustained bombing against Houthi-controlled Yemen, with 339+ strikes hitting 800+ targets.
Airwars documented 33 civilian harm incidents and at least 224 civilian deaths. The Yemen Data Project documented at least 238 civilian deaths including 24 children, with 467 civilians injured.
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Updated March 25, 2026Extrajudicial Killing
War Crime / Crime Against HumanityOngoingReported record
A sustained campaign of Hellfire missile strikes on suspected drug boats has killed at least 95 people without due process, public evidence of drug trafficking, or identification of the dead. Legal experts widely classify these as extrajudicial killings and crimes against humanity.
At least 95 people killed in 26+ Hellfire missile strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific since September 2, 2025, with no public evidence the boats were carrying drugs.
The very first strike on September 2, 2025 included a 'double tap' — two survivors clung to wreckage for 45 minutes before a follow-up strike killed them. The total death toll from this single incident was 11.
US airstrikes killed 68 detained African migrants sleeping in a Sa'ada detention center during Operation Rough Rider. Amnesty International's investigation found no evidence the facility was a military target and concluded the strike was indiscriminate and must be investigated as a war crime.
US airstrikes hit a migrant detention center in Sa'ada, Yemen at approximately 5:00 AM on April 28, 2025, while 115 detained migrants were sleeping, killing at least 68 and injuring 47.
Victims were primarily Ethiopian and Somali migrants detained by Houthi authorities solely for their irregular immigration status — they were not combatants or military targets.
US airstrikes in Somalia escalated dramatically in 2025, with AFRICOM claiming zero civilian casualties despite independent monitors documenting dozens of civilian deaths. AFRICOM stopped publishing casualty data and has never paid compensation for civilian harm in the country.
AFRICOM conducted at least 43 airstrikes in Somalia in 2025, more than doubling the prior year's pace, with the administration citing both regional security and alleged threats to the US homeland.
AFRICOM has assessed zero civilian casualties from its 2025 strikes, while independent monitors at Airwars document between 33 and 167 total civilian deaths from US strikes in Somalia.