Yemen’s Houthi movement was reportedly deeply regretful with regards to a deadly fire it had been earlier this month accused of causing at a migrant detention center. The incident, which took place in the capital, Sanaa, on March 7, saw 44 migrants killed and 193 others injured in the blaze. According to the Houthi’s the fire had been an ‘accident’. Houthi Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein al Azi, said, “We express our deep regret over the accidental incident at the migrant detention center in Sanaa.”

Human Rights Watch, however, have accused Houthi forces of having launched projectiles at the center. According to the BBC, al Azi did not address Human Rights Watch’s report. Meanwhile, the United Nations on Tuesday, called for an independent investigation.

Witnesses said that security personnel and guards had been trying to bring a protest by hundreds of migrants, against conditions at the detention center, to an end. Most of those protesting had been Ethiopian and Eritrean. Hundreds of those protesting had been taken to a hangar, where a member of the security forces climbed on to the roof launched two projectiles. The first projectile produced smoke, while the second exploded and started a fire. It’s unknown whether the projectiles had been smoke grenades, tear-gas cartridges or stun grenades. A Yemeni rights group, Mwatana for Human Rights, cited witnesses as saying the Houthis also fired unidentified projectiles through the windows into the hangar.

The BBC quotes a 20-year-old migrant as saying, “I was terrified, I felt like my mind was blocked with smoke. People were coughing, the mattress and blankets caught fire. “People were roasted alive. I had to step on their dead bodies to escape.” An Ethiopian survivor said dozens were trapped and unable to escape the blaze. He said, “I saw bodies being burned in the hangar.”

Tens of thousands of migrants, mostly from the Horn of Africa, attempt to reach Saudi Arabia via Yemen, despite the war in the country. However, they find themselves stuck in Yemen due to the borders being closed.

Umm Muhammed Umar