Global Courant 2023-04-20 03:42:01
Houthi officials said more than 80 people were killed and more than 300 injured in the stampede triggered by the aid distribution in the capital Sana’a.
According to eyewitnesses, hundreds of people gathered to receive alms. (TRTWorld)
Houthi officials said more than 80 people were killed and hundreds injured in war-torn Yemen after an aid distribution triggered one of the deadliest stampedes in a decade.
The tragedy that struck the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country late Wednesday came days before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
At least “85 people were killed and more than 322 injured” after the stampede in the capital’s Bab al Yemen district, a Houthi security official said.
“There were women and children among the dead,” he told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to journalists. A second health official confirmed the toll.
In Houthi-controlled Sana’a, an AFP reporter said the incident occurred at a school that was receiving aid.
According to eyewitnesses, hundreds of people gathered to receive alms.
According to two witnesses, Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen, armed Houthis opened fire in the air to control the crowd, apparently hitting an electrical wire and causing the wire to explode. They said that this caused panic and that people, including many women and children, started a stampede.
In a statement made by the rebels Saba news agency from the interior ministry, it was reported that the dead and injured were transported to nearby hospitals and those responsible for the distribution were detained.
The ministry did not provide an exact figure, but said “dozens of people died due to a stampede during the coins randomly distributed by some merchants”.
Mehdi al-Mashat, the Houthi rebel’s political chief, said a committee had been formed to investigate.
A Houthi security official said three people were detained on suspicion of involvement in the incident.
widespread poverty
Videos circulating on social media showed corpses lying on the floor of a large complex as people clamored around them.
AFP was unable to independently verify the images.
Families flocked to the hospitals under heavy security, but many were not allowed inside as senior officials visited the dead and wounded.
An AFP reporter in Sanaa said large crowds descended on a hospital entrance.
According to the reporter, security forces were also heavily deployed around the school where the incident took place. They prevented their relatives from entering the facility to find their loved ones.
Distributing financial aid is a ritual during the month of Ramadan, when believers fast from morning to night.
Witnesses said people gathered to receive about $10 per person from a charity funded by local businessmen. The rich and businessmen often distribute cash and food to the poor, especially during Ramadan.
Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Abdel-Khaleq al-Aghri blamed the crush for the “random distribution” of funds without coordination with local authorities.
Civil war
Civil war broke out in Yemen in 2014, with Houthi rebels taking over Sana’a and prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in support of the internationally recognized government the following year.
After the six-month UN-brokered ceasefire last year, the fighting has dwindled considerably, even after its term expired in October.
But the war unleashed what the United Nations has described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian tragedies.
According to the UN, more than two-thirds of the population live below the poverty line, including government workers in Houthi-controlled areas that have not been paid for years.
More than 21.7 million people – two-thirds of the country – are in need of humanitarian assistance this year, according to the UN.
The tragedy of the stampede dampens the euphoria of a massive prisoner exchange between the country’s warring sides, during which nearly 900 detainees were released over the weekend.
On Monday, more than 100 POWs were flown from Saudi Arabia to Yemen.
Source: TRTWorld and its agencies
