shahennews<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels have admitted their forces caused a fire that killed 45 people at a migrant centre earlier this month, saying more than a dozen soldiers and officials face punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Houthi security forces had responded to a protest at a Sanaa holding facility on March 7 by launching three tear gas canisters without obtaining permission from their command, according to a statement carried by the rebels\u2019 Saba news agency late on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of the three [canisters] landed on a foam mattress, resulting in a fire that spread rapidly,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The statement said 11 security personnel had been detained, along with a number of senior officials, and that they would be tried in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rebels said that 45 migrants and refugees, most of them Ethiopian, were killed and more than 200 injured in the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Houthis, who are locked in a six-year conflict against the internationally recognised Yemeni government, had last week expressed \u201cdeep regret\u201d over the incident at the Sanaa holding facility and promised to investigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United Nations had also called for an independent probe into the blaze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, told the Security Council that the \u201cextraordinary, horrific fire\u201d had reminded the world \u201cof the plight of the migrant community\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Human Rights Watch said the detainees had been protesting against overcrowding at the centre when camp guards rounded up hundreds of them into a hangar before two projectiles were fired into the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footage of the aftermath, which AFP news agency obtained from a survivor, showed dozens of charred bodies piled on top of one another and strewn across the ground. One person was heard crying out in prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Iran-backed rebels control much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, which was captured from the Saudi-backed government in 2014, sparking the devastating conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite warnings, migrants and refugees from the nearby Horn of Africa continue to transit through war-torn and impoverished Yemen, seeking a better life in wealthy neighbouring Gulf Arab states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SOURCE\u00a0:\u00a0AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
shahennews Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels have admitted their forces caused a fire that killed 45 people at a migrant centre earlier this month, saying more than a dozen soldiers and officials face punishment. Houthi security forces had responded to a protest at a Sanaa holding facility on March 7 by launching three tear gas canisters without …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":8570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[336,335,60,183],"class_list":["post-8569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arab-and-international","tag-houthis","tag-migrant","tag-shahennews-2","tag-yemen"],"yoast_head":"\n