Houthis are accused of being burning a detention center contain Ethiopian Migrants
Yemen’s legitimate government and human rights activists in Sanaa accuse Houthis of the murder of dozens of Ethiopian migrants after Iran-backed militants were burned, on Sunday, a detention center in the capital.
In fact, Houthis were burned the center after the migrants rejected joining their lines. However, the number of victims who died in the fire is unidentified, while; activist sources said that the number surpassed 180.
On his part, Yemeni Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani affirmed in an official statement that the incident left hundreds of African migrants killed or injured, revealing that Houthis buried collectively the dead in a new graveyard for hiding the crime.
He also clarified: The incident came after the Houthis arrested African refugees from streets and markets and asked them to choose between indoctrination courses and then participation in fighting or imprisonment and repatriation, and after the refugees protested against maltreatment in jails that lack the lowest humanitarian criteria.
Eryani also said that the government called for an international, transparent, and independent investigation about the fire. He also urged for the liberation of all the detainees, following Yemen’s commitments regarding this subject, and for allowing the refugees to move freely or to return voluntary to their home.
Otheriwse, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) appealed earlier on Tuesday, the Houthis to allow humanitarian access to wounded migrants. It also said in a statement that when the fire occurred, there were certain 900 migrants; most of them were Ethiopians, in the full detention center, and the shelter area hosted more than 350 migrants.
Besides, the group’s staffs were presenting emergency care to more than 170 wounded people; at least 90 were in critical situation.
Moreover, leaked video that are diffused between local activists showing the burning of dozens of immigrants inside the arrest center, affirming that the militias were the only party responsible for the terrible crime.
