At least 85 people lost their lives and at least 322 others were injured when people who had gathered at a distribution center were trampled humanitarian aid in her Sana’a Yemeni yesterday Wednesday (19/4), officials of the de facto Houthi government said today.
“Eighty-five people are dead and over 322 injured” in the stampede during the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Bab al-Yemen district, a source close to Houthi security forces in Sanaa said. The tally was confirmed by an official of the health authorities of the rebels.
Among the dead were “women and children”, while around 50 of the injured were in serious condition, the first source added to AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the media.
The victims of this tragedy, one of the worst in a decade, were treated in hospitals in the capital and the organizers of the aid distribution event were arrested, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the rebel-controlled SABA news agency. .
The announcement does not specify the number of victims, it speaks of “dozens of people killed in a stampede during the chaotic distribution of money by some traders”.
Many Yemenis, impoverished after years of war, had gathered at the aid distribution center ahead of Eid al-Fitr, one of the most important holidays for Muslims.
Humanitarian crisis
Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, has been wracked by war since 2014 between the Houthis, Shiite rebels allied to Iran, and the forces of the internationally recognized government, backed by a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia.
The war has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises on the planet, with hundreds of thousands dead, millions displaced, epidemics, lack of clean drinking water, famine. Three-quarters of the population depend on international humanitarian aid, which, however, continues to dwindle.
In rebel-held areas, including the capital Sanaa, many civil servants have been unpaid for months.
A six-month ceasefire brokered by the UN last year was not renewed when it expired last October, but hostilities have not resumed on a large scale, they have remained sporadic, offering a respite to the population.
Last week, a Saudi delegation, accompanied by Omani mediators, went to Sanaa for talks aimed at putting a new ceasefire into effect and laying the foundations for a more lasting ceasefire.
In this context, the internationally recognized government and the rebels of Ansar Allah, or Houthis – after the name of the family that leads the faction -, proceeded in the last days to exchange about 900 prisoners of war.
There has never been such a “serious opportunity” to start a peace process in the country in the past eight years, UN special envoy Hans Grudberg said with satisfaction on Monday. But “we have no illusions. It will take a lot of work to build trust and make compromises,” he warned.
Source: News Beast
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