Migrants demand international probe into deadly Yemen fire

On March 14, a leader of the migrant community in the Yemeni capital called for an international investigation into a fire that thundered through a detention center last week, killing at least 44 people, mostly Ethiopian expatriates.

At a news conference in Sana’a, Othman Gilto, the head of the Ethiopian community, blamed the Houthi rebels who controlled the capital, as well as the “negligence” of the United Nations, which has aid agencies in Yemen. The fire injured more than 200 people.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), some 900 migrants, mostly from Ethiopia, were detained, including 350 inside a warehouse – when the fire broke out on Sunday.

“The conditions at the holding facility, which was a three-fold overkipsy, were inhumane and unsafe,” said IOM Director General Antonio Vittorino.

At least 43 of the dead were buried at Sana Cemetery on Friday amid tight security. Women of the migrant community were seen screaming and crying ambulances carrying the corpses that had arrived from the funeral service at a major mosque.

Abdullah al-Leithi, the head of the Sudanese community in Sanaa, said many of the dead IDs were lacking and could not be identified, adding that most had “not given their real names” on documentation prior to the fire.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.

The agency’s spokesman in Yemen, Olivia Hayden, said that the United Nations Migration Agency has held those responsible for the tragedy.

“We stand with the victims of the fire. Migrants urgently need more security and support in Yemen, or we will continue to see them suffering and lost lives. One step in this direction is to ensure that the victims of the fire and their families are accountable after the horrific incident.

Survivors and local rights campaigners say the fatal explosions occurred when guards fired tear gas at the crowded warehouse, trying to end a protest against alleged misconduct and misconduct at the facility.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels did not mention the cause of the fire, mentioning a protest or giving a final casualty toll. He had said that an investigation had been opened, but no conclusion had been announced. The agency said the Houthis also prevented the United Nations’ migration agency from reaching injured migrants in hospitals.

The rebels attempted to shift the blame on the IOM, alleging that it was not sheltering the migrants and transferring them to their home countries.

The head of the IOM, Mr. Vittorino, said, however, that his agency “does not set up, manage or supervise detention centers in Yemen or anywhere in the world.” He said the IOM is working to resume the voluntary return of migrants from Sanaa to Ethiopia, which he described as “a lifeline for many stranded migrants under dangerous conditions”. Yemen’s six-year-old civil war has not stopped migrants from entering the country, desperate to make their way to neighboring Saudi Arabia to work as housebuilders, servants and construction workers.

Some 13,000 migrants began a difficult journey from the Horn of Africa to Yemen in 2019, but the figure increased to 3 emb, 000 due to the coronavirus virus last year. According to the IOM, more than 2,500 migrants arrived in Yemen from Djibouti in January.