At least 85 people were murdered and more than 300 were injured when a stampede broke out during a charity event in Sana’a, Yemen’s capital. According to official claims made by the Houthi-led government, the stampede occurred during a “random distribution” of money in the Bab al-Yemen neighbourhood of the capital.
According to a Houthi official, at least 85 people were killed and dozens more were injured in a rampage at a financial aid distribution event in the capital of Yemen on Wednesday night. According to the Houthi-controlled Interior Ministry, pandemonium broke out in the Old City of Sanaa when hundreds of impoverished people attended a merchant-organized event.
Brigadier Abdel-Khaleq al-Aghri, the ministry’s spokesman, attributed the shortage to the “random distribution” of currency without consulting local authorities. The incident occurred just days prior to Eid al-Fitr, which will mark the end of the Islamic sacred month of Ramadan later this week.
According to a Houthi spokesperson, at least “85 people were killed and more than 322 were injured” in the rush in the Bab al-Yemen neighbourhood of the capital.
Dozens of the injured were transported to adjacent hospitals. According to the Houthi rebels’ Al-Masirah satellite TV channel, a senior Sanaa health official, Motaher al-Marouni, reported the death toll and stated that at least 13 others were severely injured.
The insurgents immediately shut down the school where the ceremony was being conducted and forbade anyone, including journalists, from attending. According to witnesses, in an attempt to control the gathering, armed Houthis fired into the air, striking an electrical line and causing it to explode. According to them, this induced dread, resulting in a stampede.
According to the Interior Ministry, two organisers have been detained and an investigation is ongoing. Since the Houthis descended from their northern stronghold in 2014 and deposed the internationally recognised government, the Iranian-backed Houthis have controlled the Yemeni capital.