Tear gas bombs caused Yemen migrant detention centre fire

Sanaa, March 21 Yemen's Houthi militia have said three tear gas bombs fired by their riot forces caused the deadly fire at a migrant detention centre in Sanaa earlier this month that claimed the lives of at least 45 African migrants.

There were a total of 862 African migrants in the seven-ward migrant detention centre, and the incident took place on March 7 in Ward No. 1, which hosted 358 of the detained African migrants, according to the Houthi-controlled Interior Ministry's statement aired by the group's al-Masirah TV on Saturday.

The Ministry said riot forces were called in to quash a riot a hunger strike staged by the detained African migrants.

"The riot forces then fired three tear gas bombs. One of them fell on a mattress that caused the fire and killed 45 African migrants," the Houthi-controlled authorities said, adding that they have arrested 11 soldiers of the riot forces for causing the accident.

Last week, the Houthi authorities said they buried 43 victims in a mass grave.

The International Organization of Migrants (IOM) has urged the Houthi authorities to allow its staff in Sanaa to access the centre and the hospitals to provide health assistance to the fire victims.

The Yemen government has accused the Houthi rebels of committing "a genocide against the African migrants in the seized Sanaa", calling for an international probe into the fatal fire in the detention centre.

According to the IOM, Yemen remains a transit country for tens of thousands of migrants traveling between the Horn of Africa and Saudi Arabia despite years of war.

The Organization estimated that the number of migrants arriving in Yemen fell from more than 138,000 in 2019 to just more than 37,500 in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014 when Houthi rebels seized control of several northern provinces and forced the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government.

( With inputs from IANS )