بيان iom
Nearly 900 migrants, mostly Ethiopians, were being held by Ansar Allah in the overcrowded facility, and more than 350 migrants were in the hangar area that caught fire, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), whose staff were at the site at the time.
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Sana'a – The Ansar Allah (Houthi) group caused the death and injury of scores of African migrants by starting a deadly fire in an overcrowded detention facility in Sana’a on March 7, Mwatana for Human Rights said. Since the fire, the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group has detained some of the injured migrants, prevented humanitarian access, and prevented the migrants’ family members from visiting them.
The horrific incident once again underscores how desperately international investigations and credible accountability are needed for Yemen. States should immediately take concrete steps to ensure criminal accountability and reparations for Yemen, including violations and abuses committed against migrants and refugees, Mwatana for Human Rights said.
In early March, a large number of migrants held in an Ansar Allah-controlled detention facility in Sana’a began a hunger strike. The migrants, who were held in the Immigration, Passport and Naturalization Authority Immigration Holding Facility on Khawlan street in the capital, Sana’a, were protesting their ill-treatment and arbitrary detention by the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group.
A community member and migrant who had been detained in the facility explained that the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group, in addition to detaining the migrants in terrible conditions, was also extorting them, demanding a fee in exchange for their release. The community member said this practice had been increasing since early February 2021. The migrant said:
Some paid and were actually released, but most of us did not have any money to pay it. I stayed 15 months in that detention center until the fire broke out.
On Sunday, March 7, 2021, at around 01:00 pm, armed Ansar Allah (Houthi) men tried to end the migrants’ hunger strike by force. A fist-fight broke out between some of the migrants and the Ansar Allah (Houthi) men. Soon after, Ansar Allah (Houthi) forces began to fire bullets in the air, witnesses said. Additional Ansar Allah (Houthi) forces came.
Ansar Allah (Houthi) men closed the door to the hangar, witnesses told Mwatana. 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. A survivor described what happened:
Then, the riot control came. One of the guards came up on the ladder and I heard them saying “Ready.” They started throwing projectiles emitting smoke from the top windows of the ward. We only heard the sounds of explosions and a lot of smoke.
We tried to escape but the ward doors were locked, and we were cramped inside. I could hear the sound of explosions and the sounds of my friends groaning…but I could not help anyone.
The smoke filled the place.
Another person told Mwatana they heard a loud bang coming from the compound when they walked by it that afternoon.
A large fire erupted inside the overcrowded detention facility. The migrants broke down the hangar’s door and fled.
Nearly 900 migrants, mostly Ethiopians, were being held by Ansar Allah in the overcrowded facility, and more than 350 migrants were in the hangar area that caught fire, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), whose staff were at the site at the time.
It remains unclear exactly how many people died and were injured in the fire.
A health worker confirmed that the bodies of at least 16 African migrants who were killed in the fire had been sent to various morgues in Sana’a. The health worker said all of the bodies were scorched. Around 170 people have been treated for injuries, with many, according to IOM, |remaining in critical condition.
The fate of many migrants remains unknown. One migrant said:
Our family members did not even find bodies to bury. The fate of those who survived is unknown. We are scared. We could be killed at any time!
People injured in the fire were taken to different hospitals in Sana’a, but their family members have not been allowed to visit them. One hospital in Sana’a received a group of badly burned Ethiopians, a witness said. The group was brought to the hospital on a military vehicle and escorted by armed men. The Ethiopians received medical assistance in the Burns Department, before being taken out of the hospital on the same military vehicle.
Ansar Allah has increased its security presence in hospitals treating injured migrants, prevented access to those injured, and sought to prevent the spread of information related to the fire’s victims, and about the fire itself. Dozens of Ethiopian cleaning staff at different hospitals have received instructions to leave work until further notice, witnesses told Mwatana. After the fire, dozens of migrants were seen taken in three mid-sized buses, apparently by Ansar Allah, to undisclosed locations. After the fire, Ansar Allah forces surrounded the area around the detention facility and tightly controlled access.
The day after the fire, on March 8, 2021, a group of family members tried to organize a protest in front of the United Nations building in Sana’a. Ansar Allah (Houthi) members fired shots in the air to disperse them. On March 9, family members protested again.
Ansar Allah should urgently allow and facilitate humanitarian access and allow family members to visit their loved ones. Ansar Allah should reveal how many were killed in the fire, and the fate of those taken to unknown locations. Ansar Allah should immediately release all arbitrarily detained migrants.
“This fire is a horrific addition to the long list of violations migrants and refugees have faced in Yemen during this war, and a horrific addition to the long list of violations by the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group,” Radhya Al Mwtawakel, Mwatana for Human Rights Chairperson, said. “The migrant and refugee community in Yemen can’t wait any longer for justice.”
Throughout the conflict, African migrants and refugees in Yemen have faced multiple forms of severe abuse, including arbitrary detention, torture, and other forms of cruel, degrading and inhumane treatment.
IOM called for “urgent humanitarian access to migrants injured in Sunday’s deadly fire” and “the release of all migrants from detention in the country.” IOM called for “a renewed commitment to providing safe, predictable movement options for migrants.” In a statement, IOM’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa said, “Our thoughts are with the families of those affected and the community as a whole. Now, the migrant community in Sana’a needs to be given the space to respectfully mourn and bury their dead in a dignified manner.”
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