Yemen rebels admit forces caused deadly fire at migrant centre

Yemen's Huthi 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.

Huthi security forces had responded to a protest at a Sanaa holding facility on March 7 by launching three teargas canisters without obtaining permission from their command, according to a statement carried by the rebels' Saba news agency late Saturday.

"One of the three landed on a foam mattress, resulting in a fire that spread rapidly," it said.

The statement said 11 security personnel had been detained, along with a number of senior officials, and that they would be tried in court.

The rebels said that 45 migrants -- most of them Ethiopian -- were killed and more than 200 injured in the incident.

The Huthis, who are locked in a six-year conflict against the internationally recognised government, had last week expressed "deep regret" over the incident at the Sanaa holding facility and vowed to investigate.