Hundreds of Africans were killed and injured in the Sanaa Passport Detention Center fire (exclusive details)
English - Monday 08 March 2021 الساعة 11:04 am
Sanaa, NewsYemen, Exclusive:
Dozens of African immigrants were killed and hundreds were injured, yesterday afternoon, Sunday, as a result of a fire in the detention center for illegal immigrants in the Passport Authority building, east of the capital, Sana'a.
According to a relative of the victims, an explosion was heard inside the refugee shelter at the Passports Authority, followed by a fire that led to the death and injury of more than 300 detained migrants, most of them women and elderly people from the Ethiopian Oromo, in addition to a number of custody guards.
For its part, the International Organization for Migration announced, on Sunday, that the fire resulted in the death of eight people, noting that reports indicate that the total number of deaths is much higher.
It explained that it provides emergency health care to more than 170 wounded, including more than 90 in serious condition, indicating that her team is also distributing food to those affected.
The International Migration pointed out that the cause of the fire in the detention center is still unclear, noting that this accident is one of the many dangers that migrants have faced during the past six years of the crisis in Yemen.
According to the Houthi Ministry of Interior statement, investigations are still underway to find out the cause of the fire.
Regarding the high number of victims, African refugees explained that Sana'a witnessed an unprecedented Houthi campaign to arrest the largest number of African refugees on the pretext that they were living illegally. He pointed out that among those who were arrested were those born in Yemen and those who lived more in Yemen 30 years ago.
Relatives of the victims held the Houthi authorities and the International Organization for Migration the first responsibility as a result of their negligence, since taking care of the migrants is their responsibility, and they receive tens of millions of dollars in return, and they demanded that they provide full health care to the injured.
They also called on the competent authorities to investigate and disclose the causes of the fire in full transparency to the public opinion, and to deal with what happened with all responsibility and humanity.
