Beth: The Euro-Med Monitor has expressed its deep concern about the reports it received about the involvement of the Houthi group in the fire that killed a number of migrants in a detention center in the capital, Sana'a.

According to the information collected by the Euro-Med Monitor from its field sources, which matched the testimonies of survivors of the accident, hundreds of immigrants of African nationalities who are being held in a facility of the Immigration, Passports and Nationality Authority in Sana'a entered a hunger strike to protest their detention and ill-treatment, and barter their freedom for large sums of money. Most of them just can't afford to pay it.

The sources explained that on Sunday, March 7, armed groups from the Houthi group tried to end the detainees' strike by force, which led to clashes between the two parties, as those forces did not succeed in their mission and retreated, awaiting the arrival of additional forces, amid a state of panic and great chaos that prevailed in the place.

After a short time, additional reinforcements arrived at the place, and a number of Houthi gunmen advanced to the hangar, which contained about 350 immigrants, closed all doors of the hangar, and began firing projectiles through the upper windows that emit thick smoke, as it caused a large fire that killed more than 16 migrants and caused about Another 200 were severely burned, in an infinite toll.

It is not known yet what type of projectiles fired by Houthi elements at the migrant dormitory, but it is proven through the information that these projectiles directly caused the tragic fire, and therefore the group bears full responsibility for the accident.

This is reinforced by the Houthi movement’s imposition of a tight security cordon on the place, preventing the families of the injured from visiting their children, and even preventing the families of the dead from identifying their charred corpses.

The Houthi movement must provide the necessary medical care for the injured, end the arbitrary detention of thousands of migrants, and close all detention centers that do not meet the basic requirements for a decent life under the relevant international standards.

All the available evidence points to a horrific crime in which innocent immigrants were killed illegally, which requires the opening of an impartial and independent international investigation to uncover the minute details of the crime and hold the perpetrators accountable in accordance with the requirements of justice.

The United Nations should send a special team to inspect all immigration detention facilities in Yemen, verify conditions of detention, the legal status of detainees, and monitor all procedures that migrants are subjected to in those centers.