International
Ramadan Charity Event Turns Deadly; At Least 78 Killed In Yemen Stampede
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Muslims across the world have been observing Ramadan for nearly 30 days.
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A charity event to help the needy in Yemen took a tragic turn on Wednesday.
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The victims had reportedly gathered into a school to receive donations of about $9.
Eko Hot Blog reports that Yemeni officials have confirmed that at least 78 people were killed in a crowd surge in Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, on Wednesday as needy residents in the war-torn nation flocked to receive charity handouts from local merchants during the holy month of Ramadan.
According to Houthi rebel officials, at least 73 were also injured.
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The stampede happened after armed Houthis allegedly fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently striking an electrical wire and causing an explosion.
According to two witnesses, Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen, that sparked a panic, and people including many women and children, began running.
Video of the tragedy in Sana’a showed a chaotic scene with dozens of people packed tightly together, unable to move and shouting for help.
GRAPHIC CONTENT: At least 78 people were killed in a stampede in Sana'a, Yemen, as hundreds gathered in a school to receive $9 per person charitable donations. The crowd surge left dozens of people packed tightly together, unable to move, and shouting for help. pic.twitter.com/qBCRDfMgOo
— EkoHotBlog (@ekohotblog) April 20, 2023
Images from the aftermath showed shoes and slippers heaped into piles as well as scarfs strewn on the floor.
This screengrab shows abandoned footwear and other belongings lie on the ground after a stampede in Sana’a, Yemen, on April 19.
“What happened tonight is a tragic and painful accident, as dozens of people were killed due to a large stampede of a number of citizens caused by a random distribution of sums of money by some merchants and without coordination with the Ministry of Interior,” the spokesman of the Houthi-run Ministry of Interior, Abdul-Khaleq al-Ajri, said in the statement.
According to Reuters, hundreds of people had crowded into a school to receive donations of about $9.
The incident came just a few days ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Naseh Shaker, a journalist who was at the scene, told CNN there was a “very long line of people” gathered at the entrance to the school, which was being used for distributing food and financial aid. They had begun queuing after sunset with the hopes of receiving the donation, he said.
When officials in charge of the distribution arrived and opened the door, “a lot of people rushed into the school.”
“This is a disaster to find people sacrificed their lives for just 10 dollars,” Shaker said. “People are very hungry people are very poor.”
The head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi Al-Mashat, ordered an investigation into the incident on Thursday.
The Houthi-run General Authority for Zakat announced in a statement it would give one million Yemeni Riyal (about $4,000) to each family of the crowd surge victims.
It also said it would take care of the treatment of those injured and pay 200,000 Yemeni Riyal (about $800) to each injured person.
Yemen has been described by the United Nation (UN) as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
FURTHER READING
Nine years of war have killed thousands, destroyed the economy and left 21.6 million people — two-thirds of the country’s population — in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Tens of thousands of Yemenis are living in famine, according to the UN.
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