Deadly Yemen migrant centre fire caused by Houthi projectiles, HRW says

Ethiopian migrants gather to protest their treatment in the war-torn country during a sit-in outside a compound of United Nations organizations in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen March 15, 2021. Picture taken March 15, 2021. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman

ADEN (Reuters) - A fire last week that killed more than 40 African migrants in an overcrowded detention centre in Yemen's capital Sanaa was started after Houthi forces fired projectiles during a skirmish with detainees, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.

The United Nations migration agency IOM says the March 7 fire engulfed a hangar-like building holding around 350 people from among 900 being held at the Immigration, Passport and Naturalization Authority Holding Facility at Sanaa airport.