Sanaa [Yemen], April 20: A stampede amid charity distribution left at least 85 people dead and hundreds injured in Yemen on April 20, one of the deadliest stampedes , the Houthis said. here for a decade.
The latest tragedy in the Arabian peninsula's poorest country comes just days before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
A Houthi security official said at least "85 people were killed and more than 322 injured" following a stampede in the Bab al- Yemen district in the Yemeni capital Sanaa .
"Women and children were among the dead," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The death toll was also confirmed by another health official.
According to an AFP reporter in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, the incident happened inside a school while aid was being distributed.
Witnesses said hundreds of people gathered to receive charity money.
The dead and wounded have been transported to nearby hospitals and those responsible for the distribution have been taken into custody, the Houthi interior ministry said in a statement carried by the rebels' Saba news agency. .
The agency did not provide exact numbers but said "dozens of people were killed in stampedes while some merchants distributed money".
Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi's Political Council, said a commission had been set up to investigate. A Houthi security official said three people had been detained on suspicion of involvement in the incident.
Families rushed to the hospital amid tight security. However, many people are not allowed to enter the hospital because officials are also coming to investigate the situation of the dead and injured.
AFP correspondent in Sanaa said crowds had poured into one entrance to the hospital. Security forces were also deployed heavily around the school where the stampede occurred.
Civil war broke out in Yemen in 2014, when Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa . The Saudi-led coalition in 2015 had to step in to support the internationally recognized government.
Fighting has eased considerably after a six-month cease-fire brokered by the United Nations last year, even after the agreement expired in October 2022.
However, the conflict there has caused what the United Nations calls one of the world's worst humanitarian tragedies.
According to the United Nations, more than two-thirds of Yemen's population live below the poverty line, including government employees in areas controlled by the Houthis who have not been paid for years. More than 21.7 million Yemenis - two-thirds of the country's population - need humanitarian assistance this year.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper