Last Sunday, 7 March 2021, a fire raged through a detention centre in Sanaa, killing at least 44 migrants and injuring more than 180. Although the cause of the fire is still being disputed, witness reports indicate the source of the fire being linked to security forces repressing a protest by detainees. 

When the fire broke out, the facility in Yemen’s capital city Sanaa held at least 900 immigrants, mostly from Ethiopia. The whole Immigration, Passports and Naturalization Authority complex is heavily overcrowded. People are being deprived of the minimal health and safety requirements as they are being cramped up in the basement and rooms of the buildings. The fire started in the hangar, where about 350 people were detained due to the overcrowding in the main building.  

Survivors have described dozens of people being trapped by the flames, unable to escape.  The International Organization for Migration (IOM) was on site when the fire broke out and immediately provided assistance to the victims – alongside the Ministry of Public Health. Carmela Godeau, IOM’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa calls for urgent humanitarian access to the migrants injured by the fire: 

“As many migrants are in a critical condition, meeting their health needs must be an urgent priority. We are facing challenges accessing the injured due to an increased security presence in the hospitals. Humanitarians and health workers must be given access to support the treatment of those affected by the fire and others who have been receiving long-term care from IOM and partners.” 

While 8 people were declared dead by IOM on Sunday, Sanaa Mohammed Nour, head of the Eritrean community in Sanaa, has now announced at least 44 deaths. These numbers could not yet be confirmed by IOM because the Houthis did not allow the organisation to have access to the injured at the hospital. It is likely that the final death toll is much higher.

The Houthi rebels have been in control of Sanaa since September 2014, following widespread protests against the government. Subsequently, the Houthis overthrew the Yemeni government and the conflict escalated in spring 2015, when Saudi-Arabia and its allies launched first air-strikes against the Iran-backed rebels. According to the UN, the war in Yemen has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. 

The cause of the fire last weekend remains unclear, as the Iran backed Houthi rebels have not revealed any information so far. Immediately following the fire, allegations were made that it was caused by air strikes on the Yemeni capital which coincided with the fire outbreak. These Saudi air strikes were in retaliation to drone and ballistic missile attacks carried out against multiple locations in Saudi Arabia, for which Houthi forces have claimed responsibility. However, new information now reveals that the Saudi-led coalition air strikes only damaged buildings nearby, they did not trigger the fire. Instead, witnesses report that the fire was caused by guards firing tear gas into the hangar trying to end a protest by the migrants. 

In the beginning of March, hundreds of detainees had gone on a hunger strike to demand their freedom and to end the ill-treatment and abuses they faced in the centre. On Sunday, the security forces were unable to control the protestors who were shouting and banging at doors. According to survivors and an anonymous IOM official, an anti-riot squad was called in, which used tear gas and shot other unidentified projectiles into the hangar; ultimately leading to the catastrophic fire. 

Most of the immigrants detained at the centre in Sanaa were arrested by the rebels in the northern province while they were trying to cross the border to Saudi-Arabia. Despite the ongoing conflict, Yemen remains a transit country for tens of thousands of migrants taking the route from the Horn of Africa to find a better life in the oil-rich Gulf countries through Yemen. According to the IOM, Covid-19 has decreased the numbers of arrivals drastically – from over 138,000 migrants in 2019 to just over 37,500 in 2020. 

These migrants, who leave their homes in despair of finding work, have no access to basic services and protection. Many of them are arbitrarily arrested by the Houthi rebels and are forced to either pay a ransom, or to join the Houthis to regain their freedom. Consequently, they are also vulnerable to trafficking rings, which are believed to be linked to armed groups involved in the Yemen conflict. Earlier this year, at least 20 migrants were killed after smugglers threw 80 people overboard during their journey from Djibouti to Yemen. 

IOM is calling for the release of all migrants held in the detention facility in Sanaa. Meanwhile, Houthis officials accused the UN and IOM of bearing the responsibility for the casualties because they failed to house and deport the 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 Houthis, commented Radhya al-Mwtawakel, head of Mwatana for Human Rights. 

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This post was originally published on International Observatory of Human Rights.