One of the bloodiest stampedes in a decade claimed more than 80 lives and wounded hundreds during a charity distribution event on Thursday in war-torn Yemen, according to Huthi authorities.
Days before the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, which commemorates the conclusion of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the latest tragedy to hit the poorest nation on the Arabian Peninsula occurred.
A Huthi security officer said that after the rush in the Bab al-Yemen neighborhood of the city, “at least 85 were killed and more than 322 were wounded.”
He spoke to AFP on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. “Women and children were among the deceased,” he said.
The number was verified by another health authority.
The incident occurred inside a classroom where help was being given, according to an AFP journalist in Sanaa, which is under Huthi authority.
Witnesses said that hundreds of people in the impoverished nation came to accept supplies.
A group of corpses were crammed together in a video published by the Al Masirah TV station of the Huthi rebels, and individuals were crawling on top of one another to attempt to squeeze through.
The video indicated that several had their lips covered by other people’s hands and that the thick mob had encompassed the rest of their bodies.
While they pulled individuals out of the rush, armed fighters in military gear and distribution personnel yelled at the mob to turn around.
According to a statement from the Huthi interior ministry distributed by the rebels’ Saba news agency, the dead and wounded have been sent to surrounding hospitals, and those in charge of the distribution have been arrested.
While it could not provide a precise figure, the ministry said that “dozens of persons were murdered owing to a stampede during a random distribution of amounts of money by certain merchants.”
Mahdi al-Mashat, the political head of the Huthis, said that an inquiry committee had been established.
Three persons have reportedly been arrested on suspicion of participation, according to a Huthi security officer.
LARGE-SCALE POVERTY
Relatives hurried to the hospitals, but many were turned away because senior authorities were also paying their respects to the dead and injured.
Large crowds gathered outside one hospital gate, according to an AFP reporter in Sanaa.
According to the reporter, there were several security personnel stationed close to the school where the event occurred. They prevented family members from visiting the institution to look for missing loved ones.
Once the area was cleaned, sandles and clothing remnants were scattered across the facility, according to footage shown on Al Masirah TV.
Yemen has experienced a civil conflict for more than eight years, which has resulted in what the UN calls one of the biggest humanitarian catastrophes in history.
When Iran-backed Huthi rebels captured Sanaa in 2014, a coalition headed by Saudi Arabia intervened the following year to support the internationally recognized government.
During the UN-brokered six-month cease-fire last year, even after it ended in October, fighting has significantly decreased.
Nonetheless, the UN estimates that more than two thirds of the population—including government workers in Huthi-controlled regions who haven’t received pay in years—lives below the poverty line.
According to the UN, more than 21.7 million people, or two-thirds of the population, need humanitarian aid this year.
A significant prisoner exchange between the country’s warring parties over the weekend resulted in the release of over 900 prisoners, but the stampede tragedy dampens the celebration.
More than 100 more prisoners of war were transported by air from Saudi Arabia to Yemen on Monday.
