Global Courant 2023-04-20 12:58:06
SANAA, Yemen — A crowd apparently panicked by gunfire and an electrical explosion during an event to distribute financial aid during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in the Yemeni capital late Wednesday, leaving at least 78 people dead, according to witnesses and at least 73 others were injured and Houthi rebel officials.
The tragedy was the deadliest in Yemen in years unrelated to the country’s long-running war, and came ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan later this week.
According to two witnesses, Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen, armed Houthis fired into the air in an attempt to contain the crowd, apparently hitting an electrical wire and causing it to explode. That caused panic and people, including many women and children, began to run wild, they said.
Video posted to social media showed dozens of bodies, some motionless and others screaming as people tried to help. Separate images of the aftermath released by Houthi officials showed victims’ bloodstains, shoes and clothing scattered on the ground. Detectives were seen investigating the area.
The crush took place in the old town in central Sanaa, where hundreds of poor people had gathered for a charity event organized by merchants, according to the Houthi-led interior ministry.
Clothes on stairs and on the ground after a deadly stampede in Sanna, Yemen, on Wednesday.Ansar Allah Houthi Media Bureau via AP
People had gathered to receive about $10 each from a charity funded by local businessmen, witnesses said. Wealthy people and businessmen often hand out cash and food during Ramadan, especially to the poor.
Ministry of the Interior spokesman Brig. Abdel-Khaleq al-Aghri, blames the infatuation on the “arbitrary distribution” of funds without coordination with local authorities.
Motaher al-Marouni, a senior health official, said 78 people were killed, according to the rebel satellite broadcaster Al-Masirah. At least 73 others were injured and taken to al-Thowra Hospital in Sanaa, the hospital’s deputy director Hamdan Bagheri said.
The rebels quickly sealed off a school where the event was being held and banned people, including journalists, from approaching.
The interior ministry said it had detained two organizers and an investigation was underway.
The Houthis said they would pay about $2,000 in compensation to each family that lost a relative, while those injured would get about $400.
Yemen’s capital has been under the control of the Iranian-backed Houthis since they descended from their northern stronghold in 2014 and removed the internationally recognized government.
That prompted a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 to try to restore the government.
The conflict has turned into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran in recent years, killing more than 150,000 people, including combatants and civilians, and causing one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
More than 21 million people in Yemen, or two-thirds of the country’s population, are in need of assistance and protection, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Among those in need, more than 17 million are considered particularly vulnerable.
In February, the United Nations said it had raised just $1.2 billion of a $4.3 billion goal at a conference designed to raise funds to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.
