Houthis accused of burning 450 African migrants in Sana’a: IOM

GENEVA – About 450 migrants were burnt inside an immigration holding facility in the rebel-held capital, Sana’a, in a horrific fire that broke out last week, reports said, indicating the Iran-backed Houthis were behind the deadly fire.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it faced challenges to have access to injured victims in hospitals in which the Iran-backed militia deployed security personnel.

“Over 170 people have been treated for injuries, with many remaining in critical condition,” the IMO said in a statement.

According to witnesses, guards of the immigration holding facility, where roughly 900 Ethiopians were held, threw incendiary bombs at the migrants after they went on a hunger strike.

Some survivors said they had been treated badly and were subject to physical assaults after they refused to join the battlefronts and fight alongside the militia.

According to one of the survivors, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the migrants decided to go on hunger strike after they could no longer bear mistreatment and humiliation.

“They asked us to join the battlefronts. When we refused, they started to extort us, demanding a fee in exchange for our release,” he said. “When we told them we could not pay for our release, they started to verbally and physically assault us.”

Mwatana for Human Rights, an NGO based Sana’a, released a statement accusing Houthis of causing the deadly fire that killed and wounded hundreds of migrants.

“Ansar Allah (Houthi) men closed the door to the hangar,” Mwatana reported quoting a migrant who survived the fire. “They began firing projectiles, which witnesses could not identify, through the windows into the hangar. Witnesses described a lot of smoke and loud sounds. The projectiles caused a fire, which quickly spread,”

The Houthi militia did not deny responsibility for the incident, nor did it confirm it.

The incident triggered outrage among Yemeni activists and migrants, demanding an immediate international investigation into the deadly incident.