Iran has strongly condemned the US’s deadly airstrikes on Yemen’s capital of Sanaa and Saada province, including a centre where African migrants were kept.

In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denounced Sunday’s bombings, which killed at least 78 people, including 68 African migrants held at a detention centre in Saada, and wounded dozens of others. Baghaei described the US military attacks against civilian targets, vital infrastructure and people’s houses in different parts of Yemen as war crimes. He criticised the United Nations and international human rights organisations for their silence and indifference towards this flagrant law-breaking and the frequent violations of Yemen’s sovereignty and integrity.

According to the International Organisation for Migration, Yemen remains a transit country for thousands of migrants travelling between the Horn of Africa and Saudi Arabia despite years of civil war in the country.

Tensions between the Houthi group and the US military have sharply risen since Washington resumed airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen on March 15. The strikes were intended to deter the Houthis from targeting Israel and US ships in the Red and Arabian Seas.