At least 85 people have died in a crowd in Yemen, according to Houthi rebels. At least 322 people were injured in the riot in the capital Sanaa, an employee of the rebel security apparatus said on Thursday morning.
Among the dead were women and children. According to the Houthis, the deadly crush at a school building occurred late in the evening during a charity drive distributing donations.
According to the Houthi-run Saba news agency, a spokesman for the local interior ministry said some traders had “arbitrarily” distributed cash donations without prior coordination. Then panic broke out.
The relief operation in the school took place a few days before the Islamic festival of Aid-al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Eyewitnesses told the Al-Masdar news site that shots could be heard at times. This and an explosion after a short circuit is said to have increased the panic and finally led to the crowd.
Hundreds had previously gathered at a school to receive monetary donations from a well-known dealer. Some local media reported that the Houthis fired the shots.
Three arrests so far
In videos intended to show the scenes after the incident, numerous bodies were lined up on the ground. A video showed dozens of people crowding into a confined space while screaming loudly, some seeming to literally drown in the crowd.
The head of the High Political Council, Mahdi al-Maschat, called for an investigation into the incident. A committee designated for this purpose arrived at the scene of the incident that evening, according to a Saba report.
According to the rebels, three people were arrested in connection with the incident. Two suspected dealers were arrested. The Houthi Interior Ministry accused them of distributing the money without coordinating with the ministry.
World’s worst humanitarian crisis
Yemen is located in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. The Shiite Houthi rebels have taken over large parts of northern Yemen there in their uprising that has been going on since 2014 and also control the capital Sanaa.
The rebels are supported by Shia-majority Iran. Saudi Arabia has been fighting the Houthis with allies alongside the government in the country since 2015.
Since last year, however, there have been rapprochements between the warring parties. Fighting abated significantly after a six-month ceasefire was negotiated.
The agreement expired in October and was not formally renewed. Nevertheless, it is still largely complied with.
Hopes of further de-escalation have been fueled in recent days by the fact that the Saudi Arabian government and the Houthi rebels have begun exchanging hundreds of prisoners.
One of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in the world is taking place in Yemen, mainly due to the consequences of the civil war. According to the UN, more than 21.7 million people – two-thirds of the population – are dependent on humanitarian aid this year. (dpa, AFP)
