Othman Gilto, who heads the Ethiopian community, blamed "negligence" by the Houthi rebels who control the capital, as well as the United Nations, which has aid agencies present in Yemen. "Conditions in the holding facility, which was three times overcapacity, were inhumane and unsafe," Antonio Vitorino, IOM's director general, said. The UN migration agency has called for those responsible for the tragedy to be held accountable, Olivia Headon, the agency's spokeswoman in Yemen, said. "Migrants urgently need more protection and support in Yemen, or we will continue to see them suffer and lives lost," she said. Some 138,000 migrants embarked on the arduous journey from the Horn of Africa to Yemen in 2019, but the figure plummeted to 37,000 last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: Ethiopian News March 13, 2021 22:18 UTC