April 20, 2023 at 01:26 CET
Updated 22 minutes ago
picture description,
Those responsible for the distribution were arrested
At least 78 people have been killed in a crush at a school in the Yemeni capital Sana’a during a distribution of donations for Ramadan, officials say.
TV footage shows a crowd unable to move and many in distress in the Bab al-Yemen district.
Hundreds of people reportedly crowded into the school late Wednesday to collect donations of around US$9 (£7; €8) each.
The rebellious Houthi movement has controlled Sanaa since 2015.
A video posted to social media shows people screaming with dozens of bodies on the ground, some not moving. Other people try to help.
Two local businessmen who arranged the event have been arrested and an investigation is ongoing, the Interior Ministry said.
A ministry spokesman blamed the “random distribution” of the funds without coordination with local officials for the crush.
Many people were also injured at 13 in a critical situation, a health official in Sana’a said.
“Among the dead were women and children,” a Houthi security official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists.
The rebels are said to have cordoned off the school and denied people, including journalists, access.
The Houthis have reportedly agreed to pay $2,000 (£1,600) to any family who lost a relative, while those injured would receive about $400 (£322).
Yemen basics
- Yemen was devastated by a conflict that escalated in 2015 when the Houthis seized large parts of the country and a Saudi-led coalition intervened in support of the Yemeni government
- More than 150,000 people have died in the conflict, widely viewed as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran
- More than 23 million people – three quarters of the population – are in need of some form of assistance
- The internationally recognized government of Yemen is now based in Aden
The event occurred during the last days of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
A major prisoner swap between warring factions in Yemen began last week, seen as part of increased efforts to end the devastating eight-year conflict.
Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, chairman of the Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee, blamed the country’s humanitarian crisis for the swarm on Wednesday.
“We hold the aggression countries responsible for what happened and for the bitter reality that the Yemeni people are living in due to the aggression and blockade,” he said on Twitter.
You might also be interested in:
video caption,
BBC Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen meets frightened children fleeing civil war and ‘ghosts’ in Yemen (November 2021)