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Houthis Accused of Setting Detention Center on Fire with Ethiopian Migrants Inside

Houthis in Sanaa. (Reuters file photo)
Houthis in Sanaa. (Reuters file photo)
    Sanaa, Aden – Asharq Al-Awsat
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Houthis Accused of Setting Detention Center on Fire with Ethiopian Migrants Inside

Houthis in Sanaa. (Reuters file photo)
Houthis in Sanaa. (Reuters file photo)

Yemen’s legitimate government and human rights activists in Sanaa are accusing Houthis of killing dozens of Ethiopian migrants after the Iran-backed militants set a detention center ablaze in the capital on Sunday.

Houthis burned down the center after the migrants refused to join their ranks.

The number of victims who died in the fire remains unknown, but activist sources are saying the figure exceeded 180.

“The incident left hundreds of African migrants killed or injured,” Yemeni Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani confirmed in an official statement.

He exposed the Houthis for having the dead collectively buried in a new graveyard in an attempt to hide the crime.

“The incident came after the Houthis arrested African refugees from streets and markets and asked them to choose between indoctrination courses and then participation in fighting or imprisonment and repatriation, and after the refugees protested against maltreatment in jails that lack the lowest humanitarian criteria,” he explained.

Eryani said that the government was urging for an international, transparent, and independent probe into the fire.

The minister called for the release of all the detainees, in conformity with Yemen's commitments in this regard, and for refugees be allowed free movement or voluntary return home.

Earlier on Tuesday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) called on the Houthis to allow humanitarian access to injured migrants.

When the fire started, there were some 900 migrants, most of them Ethiopians, in the crowded detention center, and the hangar area hosted more than 350 migrants, IOM said in a statement.

The group's staff were offering emergency care to more than 170 injured people, of whom at least 90 were in serious condition.

Local activists circulated leaked footage showing the burning of dozens of immigrants inside the detention center, confirming that the militias were the only party responsible for the heinous crime.

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Uncertain Future for the PFLP-GC in Post-Assad Syria

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 
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Uncertain Future for the PFLP-GC in Post-Assad Syria

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 

The brief detention of Talal Naji, Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC), by Syrian authorities has renewed scrutiny over the status of Palestinian factions still operating in Syria, particularly those that aligned with the former Assad regime.

Naji’s arrest and swift release come amid a major political realignment following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024. Once one of the most active and heavily armed Palestinian groups in Syria, the PFLP-GC now faces an uncertain future, along with other factions that were long tolerated—or even supported—under Assad’s rule.

A well-informed Palestinian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the new Syrian administration has appointed a figure known as Abu Abdul Rahman al-Shami to oversee the file of Palestinian factions. Since assuming the role, al-Shami has convened multiple meetings with faction representatives, including regular attendees from the PFLP-GC, to discuss the fate of their fighters, weapons, property, and military infrastructure.

According to the source, al-Shami has made it clear that the new government intends to hold accountable any individuals or groups implicated in crimes against Syrian civilians during the civil war. Palestinian factions have been instructed to surrender all weapons and military equipment, and to limit their activities to humanitarian and relief work. The PFLP-GC, the source said, has largely complied.

Despite the fall of the Assad regime, Naji and much of the PFLP-GC’s second- and third-tier leadership have remained in Syria. Its offices in Damascus reportedly continue to operate, though under heightened scrutiny. Other faction leaders, however, have fled. Among them are Khaled Abdul Majid (Popular Struggle Front), Ziyad al-Saghir (Fatah–Intifada), Mohammad al-Saeed (Liwa al-Quds), and Saed Abdel Al (Free Palestine Movement). Most are believed to have sought refuge in Lebanon.

Sources confirmed that several PFLP-GC fighters have been detained in recent weeks in connection with alleged war crimes committed during their cooperation with Assad’s forces. The Syrian government has also moved to seize faction offices and military installations across the country, including properties belonging to Fatah–Intifada, the Free Palestine Movement, and the Sa’iqa Forces. Sa’iqa’s leader, Mohammad Qais, remains in Syria.

In a further blow, authorities have reportedly frozen bank accounts belonging to some Palestinian factions, both in state and private banks, although it remains unclear whether the PFLP-GC is among them.

Additionally, it is widely believed that the PFLP-GC has handed over its military training camps, which were previously spread across Damascus countryside, Daraa, Aleppo, and Suwayda. “The situation is extremely sensitive, and everyone is anxious,” one Palestinian source told Asharq Al-Awsat. “It’s likely they’ve surrendered those sites.”

The sense of unease deepened last month when Syrian authorities detained two senior Islamic Jihad officials in Damascus: Khaled Khaled, head of the group’s Syria bureau, and Abu Ali Yasser, its chief organizational officer. Both remain in custody, and no official charges have been announced.

The current atmosphere of fear and uncertainty has driven faction leaders to avoid public comment. Most now insist on anonymity when speaking to local or international media.

Before the outbreak of the Syrian uprising in March 2011, Syria hosted more than a dozen Palestinian factions. As the conflict escalated, the Assad regime encouraged the formation of new pro-regime groups, composed largely of Palestinian refugees, to fight alongside its forces.