At least 78 people have died in the panic that broke out in the Yemeni capital when hundreds of local residents gathered at a school to receive donations, writes Reuters.
Al Masirah TV, a television channel controlled by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, quoted the head of Sanaa Health Authority as saying that many people were injured, and 13 of them were in critical condition.
The stampede broke out during the distribution of charity donations. Rescue workers told Reuters that
hundreds of people had filled the premises of a local school to receive the donation, worth about nine dollars per person.
Video footage shows the crowd getting tighter and tighter, with some screaming and trying to break free. Security forces tried to disperse the people and control the crowd.
The Yemeni Ministry of Interior has reported that the organizers of the donation distribution event have been detained and an investigation is underway.
In one of the world’s poorest countries, a civil war has been going on for eight years. It is widely believed that what is happening in Yemen is a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The head of the Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Council, Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, has stated that the tragic event is a consequence of the fact that the people of Yemen have been suffering from the worst humanitarian crisis in the world for eight years.
In March, Riyadh and Tehran restored diplomatic ties that had been severed since 2016, and the prisoner exchange that took place in April gives hope that a solution to the conflict could be in sight. The Houthi negotiator has reported that the negotiations with Saudi Arabia have been successful and will be continued.