43 dead migrants buried in Yemen mass grave

Sanaa, March 13 Yemen's Houthi militia said that 43 Ethiopian migrants, who were killed in a fire at a detention centre here earlier this week, have been buried in mass graves.

"The Sunday's fire at the migrant detention centre in Sanaa was an accident," Xinhua news agency quoted the Houthis, who control the centre, as saying on Friday.

More than 200 other migrants are still in hospitals receiving treatment, the militia said.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said that the migrant detention centre was holding nearly 900 African migrants, mostly Ethiop.

The IOM urged the Houthi authorities to allow its staff in Sanaa to access the centre and the hospitals to provide health assistance to the victims.

The Yemeni government on Tuesday called for international probe into the fatal fire.

It also accused the Houthis of forcing recruiting detained African migrants to fight against the government forces in the ongoing civil war.

( With inputs from IANS )