The tragedy occurred during a charity action in Yemen. “Eighty-five people were killed, and more than 322 were injured” in a stampede during this operation organized in the Bab Al-Yemen district of Sanaa, the Yemeni capital in the hands of Houthi rebels, Houthi officials told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday April 20. This assessment was confirmed by an official of the rebel medical authorities.
“Women and children are among those who died”and about 50 injured are in serious condition, said the security source, who requested anonymity because she is not authorized to speak to the media.
This crowd movement, which comes a few days before the Muslim holiday of Eid-el-Fitr marking the end of Ramadan, took place in a school in the district of the old city, where hundreds of people had gathered to receive financial aid, according to testimonies collected by an AFP journalist. Some of them claim to have heard gunshots which, according to them, caused the crowd to move.
The authorities of Sanaa did not mention the causes of the accident or the number of victims, contenting themselves with evoking “dozens of deaths following a stampede during a chaotic distribution of sums of money by certain traders”.
Three traders arrested
A video broadcast by the rebels’ television channel, Al-Masirah TV, shows bodies piled up and people climbing on top of each other in an attempt to clear their way. Some try to push their hands away from their faces so they can breathe, the rest of their bodies completely engulfed in the dense crowd, while armed fighters in military gear try to push them in the opposite direction.
The victims were transported to nearby hospitals, and the organizers of the event arrested, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the rebel news agency, Saba. “Three traders were arrested”said a security official in Sanaa.
The families of the victims gathered in front of the hospital, but the security forces prevented them from entering, while rebel leaders went to the scene, AFP noted. The chairman of the rebels’ Supreme Political Council, Mehdi Mashat, announced the “creation of a commission to investigate the causes of the accident”according to Saba.
Humanitarian crisis
Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, has been devastated since 2014 by a conflict between the Houthis, rebels backed by Iran, and pro-government forces backed by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
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The war has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced, in a context of epidemics, lack of drinking water and acute hunger.
More than three quarters of the population depend on international aid, which nevertheless continues to decline. In rebel-held areas, including the capital Sanaa, many civil servants have not been paid for months.
A “serious opportunity” for peace
A six-month truce negotiated by the United Nations (UN) was not renewed when it expired in October, but the situation remained calm on the ground, offering respite to the population.
Last week, a Saudi delegation, accompanied by Omani mediators, traveled to Sanaa for talks aimed at reviving the truce and laying the foundations for a more durable ceasefire. In this context, the government and the rebels have carried out in recent days a major exchange of nearly 900 prisoners.
Yemen has not experienced such “serious opportunity” of a process to achieve peace for eight years, welcomed Monday the envoy of the UN, Hans Grundberg. But “Let us have no illusions. There is still a lot of work to be done to build trust and make compromises”he warned.