european leaders discuss ways out of the migrant crisis victims as ferry disaster victims are laid to rest. ♪ hello, i'm richelle carey, you are watching al jazeera live from doha. also on the program. saudi jets launch new air strikes in yemen. houthi rebels demand a complete halt to raids as a precondition to talks. nigeriaia's military says it has entered boko haram last-known strong hold and also killed a senior commander.

and the victims of south african's seen phobic violence balk to al jazeera. yags is calling on europe to take significanter will more refugees and set up more robust search and rescue operations. over a thousand people have drowned in the mediterranean in just the past week. still they are coming hundreds of people have come ashore in sicily in just the past few hours. al jazeera's lawrence lee joins us live in brussels where european leaders are arriving at a summit. and we're hearing about leaks that might come out of the summit. tell us what you know. >> reporter: it has become clear even before the meeting started what the direction of travel is. the former polish premier who is

now the president of the european council, made the observation when he was arriving that in his view the best way to stop people drowning at sea was to stop them from getting on the boats in the first place. david cameron offered a british warship and patrol boats and helicopters, an attempt, he said to disrupt the smugglers routes and blow up boats and things like that. so the entire conceit, now is to make it much more difficult, as we have been saying all day today for people to get on the boats in the first place. there's a bid of a nod to what -- you mentioned the united nations saying about immigration and these sort of things but mr. tusk himself said that is the most difficult part of the conversation they need to have because clearly all of the countries have different views

about immigration. some countries don't let anybody in. some are a bit more receptive to it so there's no common position on what the united nations and refugee agencies and the like are calling for, and if anything i most certainly think this is the view of the pressure groups it now looks as though the european union is using this crisis to shut down these routes. if you were watching this all going on in africa and the message coming to you as someone who might to flee persecution, the message from the european union is we're going to blow up the boats that you are going to travel on that is bound to make people think the european union is a pretty hostile place, if you are looking for a place of safety. >> lawrence considering there are so many competing agendas here as you just outlined any idea how long this summit is supposed to last?

hours, days? when might this actually be concluded and there is some sort of resolution coming out of it? >> reporter: it is slated for a couple of hours and then there's a news conference which donald tusk will hold later this evening, but they organize their positions. on something like that which is something the wealthy european countries agree on which is they don't want asylum seekers. some of thor things -- the -- the questions that you really can't find an answer to for example, out of the tens of thousands of people who have come over last year and are projected to come over this year they are talking about offering asylum or refuge to 5,000 people. how do they choose who they are. there have been 8,000 syrians

who have come over so far this year. what are they going to do with them? there aren't any really answers to those questions, and they kicking it down the line by saying these are things for further discussion. and they are not even offering a solution to these more important issues today. what they are trying to do i think, in the immediate term is to make it look they are on top of events. they have got to say they want to save lives, but their immediate answer is by stopping the boats that bring them over. >> lawrence thank you. the people who arrived in catania this morning were picked up 15 miles off of the libyan coast. that is where the italian government say nearly all of the people leave from. hoda abdel hamid has been talking to some of those willing

to make this perilous journey across the sea. >> reporter: they traveled for weeks, sometimes months to reach libya. baba had nearly made it when the boat he was sailing on was intercepted by the coast guards. it was on the same day another one, carrying 400 migrants capsized. >> they caught me at sea, and they put me in container. and i come here. i don't know this place. we don't understand [ inaudible ] they will help us or leave us free. >> reporter: mohammed was on that same journey. he escaped sierra leone after both parents died from ebola last year. >> [ inaudible ] we don't -- we don't have any help from

anybody. >> reporter: now they are in a detention center on the outskirts of misrata, about a thousand people are held here. the building used to be a school. the classrooms are now cramped. they came mainly from sub sa share ran countries, but some come as far as bangladesh. there is only one toilet available for everyone here men and women together. living conditions are extremely difficult. authorities do acknowledge that but they say they are doing as best as they can to cope with the situation, and they do fear in the coming months things could get worse. with the on set of summer where more migrants are expected to reach the coast of libya. everyone here heard about the shipwrecks that recently cost the lives of hundreds in the mediterranean sea. still it is a risk they are prepared to take. >> translator: yes, it's dangerous, but there's no work in my country. that's why i take the risk.

maybe i'll die. i'm scared but i have no other option. i have to work earn some money and then i can see my mother again. it will take four or five years. >> reporter: it's despair that made these men and women flee so far away from home. now despite the risk escaping war torn libya, by sea to europe remains the only hope for a safer future. hoda abdel hamid, al jazeera, misrata. >> reporter: the saudi-lead coalition has launched at least 20 air strikes within the last few hours against houthi targets in yemen. the saudis say that air defense in the hands of the houthis have been almost completely destroyed, but civilian infrastructure has been damaged as well.

the death toll over the past month has now topped 1,000 with nearly 4, 500 injured. mohamed vall reports on fierce fighting in many parts of the country. ♪ >> reporter: street battles in the yemeni city of ta'izz a day after the saudi-lead coalition announced the end of the first phase of its attack. they are supported by soldiers from the 35th brigade, but they are still unable to push the houthi rebels and the soldiers loyal to former president saleh from the city. a similar seen is here further south in the city of aden. these are members of hadi's popular resistance committees. they say fighting continued here on tuesday night, and since the early hours of wednesday. in washington the saudi

ambassador to the united states said the situation in aden required continued military action. >> we are seeing movement by the houthis that is very disturbing in the city of aden, where we see skirmishes and movement of houthi troops into aden from three different directions. >> reporter: clashes also resumed in the areas of abah da. on wednesday the saudi-lead coalition targeted houthis and fighters in ta'izz and aden. but the houthis seem far from being broken. they have marched in the capitol sana'a which they still control. they announced victory, and renewed allegiance to their leader.

those loyal to president saleh joined the march. >> translator: we took to the streets to condemn the shelling of civilians. we're telling them, shame on you. why don't you fight us like men. we will also face you as the yemenese are solid like rocks. >> reporter: the houthis says any peace deal should be based on the earlier agreement, signed last september, the day after they took control of the capitol. meanwhile, the sue man toll of the conflict is continuing to rise. >> translator: houthis target any woman, child, or man, they simply blindly target all of us. >> translator: we are no longer able to receive more cases. it has gone beyond our capabilities in this hospital. at least nine patients in each room we're short staffed and we don't have enough medical equipment and medicine. >> reporter: the international

committee of the red cross has declared the humanitarian situation as catastrophic and called for better access to aid. the saudis say they have launched a new operation with the name of restoring peace in yemen. mohamed vall al jazeera, on the saudi border of yemen. nigeria's army says it has killed an important commander in boko haram in the northeastern state of borno. it is describing him as a notorious terrorist leader. on march 27th the army announced the capture of the headquarters of boko haram. more than a week later, on april 7th, nigerian forces overran all of the camps in borno state. let's take you live now to the united states where president obama is speaking from the white house. >> -- operation.

warren and geovany were aid workers in pakistan devoted to improving the lives of the pakistani people. after warren was abducted by al-qaeda in 2011, i directed mri security team to do everything possible to find him and bring him home safely to his family. and dedicated professionals worked tirelessly to do so. and we worked closely on behalf of our italian allies to retreat geovany. our efforts have saved innocent lives here in america and around the world, and that determination only makes the loss of these two men especially painful for all of us. based on information and intelligence we have obtained

we believe that a u.s. counter terrorism operation targeting an al-qaeda compound in the afghanistan pakistan border region accidentally killed warren and geeovany this past wednesday. as a husband and father i cannot begin to imagine the ang lish that the families are enduring today. i realize that there are no words that can ever equal their loss. i know that there is nothing that i could ever say or do to ease their heart ache and today i simply want to say this. as president and commander in chief, i take full responsibility for all of aur counter terrorism operations including the one that inadvertently tooks the live of

these men. on behalf of the united states government i offer our deepest apologies to the families. as soon as we determine the cause of their deaths i directed that the existence of this operation be declassified and disclosed publicly. i did so because the families deserve to know the truth. and i did so because even as certain aspects of our national security efforts have to remain secret in order to succeed, the united states is a democracy, committed to openness in good times and in bad. our initial assessment indicates that this operation was fully consistent with the guidelines under which we conduct counter terrorism efforts in the region. and based on the intelligence that we had obtained at the time including hundreds of hours of surveillance we believed that this was an al-qaeda compound that no

civilians were present, and that capturing these terrorists was not possible. and we do believe that the operation did take out dangerous members of al-qaeda. what we did not know tragically is that al-qaeda was hiding the presence of warren and gee -- gee vanny in this same come bound. it is a cruel and bitter truth that mistakes sometimes deadly mistakes can occur, but one of the things that sets america apart from many other nations, one of the things that makes us exceptional is our willingness to confront squarely our imperfections and to learn from our mistakes. already i have directed a fuel review of what happened. we will identify the lessens that can be learned from this tragedy, and any changes that

will be made. we will do our utmost to ensure it is not repeated and we'll do everything we can to prevent the loss of innocent lives, not just innocent americans, but all innocent lives in our counter terrorism operations. today we join their families and friends in honoring the two men two humanitarians who came from different countries, but who were united by a spirit of service. for decades warren lived the ideals of our country, serving first with the peace corps. he devoted his life to people of africa and southeast asia he was a loving husband, father and grandfather who willingly left to help the people of pakistan. he was a usid contractor focusing on helping pakistani

families give a better life for their children. it also took him around the world to the central african republic haiti, and ultimately pakistan. he believed passionately that we should make a difference in the pakistani people's live. geovany's service reflected the commitment of the italian people. and today is a reminder of the bonds of friendship between our countries, and the shared values that bind italians and americans together. there could be no starker contrast between these two selfless men and their al-qaeda captors. warrens work benefited people across faiths. meanwhile al-qaeda boasted to the world that it held warren,

citing his jewish faith. al-qaeda held both men for years even has warren's health deteriorated. amid grief that is unimaginable i pray that these two families will find some small measure of solis by remembering the legacy of these men. their families are in our thoughts and prayers today, especially warren's wife elaine their daughters alicia and jennifer, and their families and the shining example of these two men will shine as a light to people the world over who see suffering and answer with compassion who see hatred and offer their love who see war and work for peace.

may god bless these two brave men, and may he watch over and comfort their families for all of the years to come. >> good morning, and welcome to al jazeera america i'm randall pinkston we're hear following breaking news from the white house. president obama just held a news conference identifying two hostages that u.s. counter terrorism forces accidentally killed in january. warren weinstein was held by al-qaeda since 2011, and an italian aid worker held since 2011, both men kidnapped in pakistan. and president obama saying there was no indication that any hostages were being held at that location. al jazeera's white house correspondent mike viqueira is live with us this morning. mike, the president just spoke about the deaths of the hostages expressing his grief

and offering condolences to the families. >> reporter: he did, and if you were to choose a word to describe the president's mood outside of somber i would say it was rueful. he actually seemed to get emotional at one point. he has spoken many times about how heavily these counter terrorism operations weigh on him and now tragically the death of two american citizens held hostage. he had been working with the usaid on small businesses helping pakistani small businesses get off the ground. taken from his place of residence, said to be the country he loved some three years ago. lisa stark sat with them after the controversial release of bo bergdahl for five individuals who had been held in guantanamo bay. lisa sat down with the family. they expressed hope at the time

that something similar could be worked out for dr. weinstein, unfortunately we find today that back in january, a counter terrorism operation which we assume to be a drone strike has resulted in dr. weinstein's death, along with the italian citizen, mr. laporto. randall randall. >> let's take a listen to what the president said just a moments ago. >> based on information and intelligence we obtained we believe a u.s. counter terrorism operation targeting an al-qaeda compound in the afghanistan, pakistan border region accidentally killed warren and geovany this past january. >> do we know anything about the cia operation, who the u.s. was targeting when it killed those two hostages? >> reporter: well we don't.

and what we do know about the situation along the border. there has been a crockdown, not only of continuing and controversial drone strikes within those areas, in primarily the pakistani territory, but now that the pakistani army is moving to flush out an offensive over the course of the last several months we do know many of the individuals the united states have been targeted have been flushed over the border into afghanistan. this has been a continuing problem for afghanistan as u.s. forces prepare to leave that country. so this has been a very active area not only for the u.s. army but the cia which carries out drone strikes as well as the pakistani army. the president -- these -- these operations have -- have been controversial obviously for a number of reasons, not the least

of which is the collateral damage that has been caused what many believe to be innocent civilians, bystanders and family members of those targeted this has been a very controversial procedure, and will continue to be so. and now the president revealing that american citizens were part of that collateral damage in this one particular raid against extremists. randall. >> we should point out mike in the press release, it is referenced that two other americans were also killed in recent terrorism operations including an al-qaeda leader and an american who became a prominent member of al-qaeda so those obviously were deliberate strikes. let's take a listen to president obama's explanation of why those strikes were made even though the hostages were there. >> our initial assessment indicates that this operation was fully consistent with the

guidelines under which we conduct counter terrorism operations in the region which has been our focus for years because it is the home of al-qaeda's leadership. and based on the intelligence we obtained at the time including hundreds of hours of surveillance, we believed this was an al-qaeda compound that no civilianings were present, and that capturing these terrorists was not possible. >> now the president talked about an dent review but this happened in january. why did it take so long to make the acknowledgment? >> reporter: much of this was classified randall. i think they wanted to determine exactly what had happened. obviously these areas, the u.s. doesn't have a great amount of presence on the ground to determine definitively what happened there, and they had no idea that the two were there at that al-qaeda compound as they describe it. >> we also have with us lisa

stark, who introduced the weinstein family shortly after the release of bowe bergdahl. lisa? >> reporter: yes i interviewed them after bowe bergdahl was released because their husband, father and grandfather was still being held captive in that area, but they were wondering why wouldn't have warren weinstein been part of that release. they were missing him greatly. a man in his mid-70s. they said he dedicated his life to helping peopling. he was part of the peace corps, he worked in africa, and here is a man in his 70s working in pakistan to try to help small individuals start their own businesses, get out of poverty. it was really like the day he was supposed to leave that he was taken by al-qaeda held for

years. they released tapes of him where he pleaded with the government. he felt the u.s. government has abandoned him. the state department at the time i interviewed the weinstein family told me they were doing all they could to try to secure his release, but of course they gave no details. the family desperately hoping he would be home soon. he was not a well man. and my heart goes out to the family as well. randall. >> lisa stark, thank you. we'll follow up with more details on your interview with the weinsteins and the revelation by president obama that u.s. counter terrorism strikes accidentally took the lives of two hostages. ♪

accidentally killed president obama confirms u.s. air strikes took the lives of two al-qaeda hostages who has been missing for years. european leaders hold an emergency meeting to figure out what to do about thousands of migrants crossing the mediterranean seas. and loretta lynch could become the first african american woman to serve as attorney general. the