The last message from an Indian sailor killed in a US airstrike on a Houthi-controlled port in Yemen was a promise to his family: 'I will come home safely.' The sailor, identified as 32-year-old Captain Arjun Singh from Kerala, was among four crew members of the MV True Confidence who died when American forces bombed what they claimed was a Houthi weapons depot on March 6. The strike, part of ongoing US operations against the Iran-backed group, hit the vessel anchored near Hodeidah, killing Singh and three others instantly.
His wife Priya, speaking from their home in Kochi, said he had sent a voice note hours before the attack. 'He said not to worry, that he was safe and would be back in two weeks. He always said that before a voyage.
' The Indian government confirmed the death and has demanded a full investigation into the incident, questioning why a civilian cargo ship was targeted. The US Central Command released a statement saying the strike was 'precision-based and necessary to degrade Houthi capabilities' and that they were 'assessing reports of civilian casualties.' For Priya Singh, the promise remains unfulfilled.
'He was just doing his job, delivering food and medicine to people. Why did he have to pay with his life?' As India pushes for answers in the UN Security Council, the family waits for a body to bury and a future without him.
This tragedy underscores the human cost of remote warfare: the algorithms that target a building cannot distinguish between a militant and a merchant seaman. Our digital world connects us, but it also distorts the weight of a single life lost in a distant port.
