A crowd that stormed into a financial aid distribution event in the Yemeni capital Sanaa during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan killed at least 78 people and injured 73, according to Houthi officials and witnesses
From
AHMED AL-HAJ and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
Apr 19, 2023 7:06pm ET
• 3 minutes reading time
SANAA, Yemen – A crowd apparently panicked by gunfire and an electrical blast stormed into a financial aid distribution event during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the Yemeni capital late Wednesday, killing at least 78 people and at least 73 others were injured witnesses and representatives of the Houthi rebels.
The tragedy was Yemen’s deadliest in years, unrelated to the country’s long-running war, and came ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan later this week.
Armed Houthis shot into the air to control the crowd, apparently hitting an electrical cable and detonating it, according to two witnesses, Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen. That sparked a panic, and people, including many women and children, began rushing in, they said.
A video posted to social media showed dozens of bodies, some motionless and others screaming, as people tried to help. Separate footage of the episodes released by Houthi officials showed bloodstains, shoes and clothing from the victims scattered on the ground. Investigators were seen surveying the site.
The scramble took place in the old town in central Sana’a, where hundreds of poor people had gathered for a charity event organized by merchants, according to the Houthi-led Interior Ministry.
People had gathered to receive about $10 each from a charity funded by local businessmen, witnesses said. Wealthy people and businessmen often distribute cash and food during Ramadan, especially to the poor.
Interior Ministry spokesman Brig Gen Abdel-Khaleq al-Aghri blamed the “random distribution” of the funds without coordination with local authorities for the swarm.
Motaher al-Marouni, a senior health official, said 78 people had been killed, according to the rebels’ Al-Masirah satellite TV station. At least 73 others were injured and taken to al-Thowra Hospital in Sana’a, according to the hospital’s deputy director Hamdan Bagheri.
The rebels quickly sealed off a school where the event was taking place and barred people, including journalists, from approaching it.
The Home Office said it had arrested two organizers and an investigation was ongoing.
The Houthis said they would pay around $2,000 in compensation to each family who lost a loved one, while those injured would receive around $400.
The Yemeni capital has been under the control of the Iran-backed Houthis since they descended from their northern stronghold and ousted the internationally recognized government in 2014.
This prompted a Saudi-led coalition to step in in 2015 to try to restore government.
The conflict has escalated into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran in recent years, killing more than 150,000 people, including militants and civilians, and creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
More than 21 million people in Yemen, or two-thirds of the country’s population, are in need of assistance and protection, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Among those in need, more than 17 million are considered particularly at risk.
In February, the United Nations announced it had raised just $1.2 billion from a target of $4.3 billion at a conference aimed at generating funds to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.
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Magdy reported from Cairo.