This Thursday’s deadly stampede in Yemen is another consequence of the war that erupted in the country eight years ago and has left its population submerged the worst humanitarian catastrophe on the planet.
The stampede, which left a total of 85 dead around noon this Thursday, did not occur during a major sporting event, religious event or concert. happened while humanitarian aid was distributed to a multitude of underprivileged.
Dozens were crushed to death and hundreds more were injured when they wanted to raise $8 during the Ramadan holiday. It is one of the impoverished country’s worst tragedies, when one begins to glimpse the end of its long civil war.
More than eight years of war have left Yemen plunged into what the UN calls one of the world’s worst humanitarian tragedies. The conflict started in 2014 when the Houthi rebels backed by Iran they took the capital. A year later, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in support of the internationally recognized government.
The country has become the war yard of two countries facing each other: Iran and Saudi Arabia, each with their respective allies.
Fighting has decreased significantly since the United Nations last year close a six-month truce. Calm remains despite the pact having expired in October.
More recently, an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to revive their Iran-Saudi relations, sponsored by China, has also shed a ray of hope in the country.
Indeed, there is growing momentum for a truce and peace talks, after the Saudis held talks with the Houthis last week following the normalization of diplomatic relations between the rivals.
However, its population is decimated. More than two-thirds live below the poverty line, according to the United Nations, even government employees in rebel areas have not received their salaries from civil servants during years.
About 21.7 million people, or two thirds of the population, are already in need of humanitarian assistance.
The stampede
In this context, the tragedy occurred in Sana’a, the capital, when explosions or shots were heard and people feared the worst in a country terrorized by years of war. The result was a mass flight. A stampede.
three people were arrested since the incident in Sanaa, controlled by Houthi rebels, after a large crowd gathered at a school to receive cash aid of 5,000 Yemeni rials ($8). A businessman had donated the funds.
“There was a crowd. They jumped on me and hurt me,” an injured boy told Houthi Al Masirah TV channel from his hospital bed.
The harrowing images released by Al Masirah showed crowds of people pressed against each other, with people trying to override the rest to get out of the crowd.
more hits they showed the corpses on the ground amidst the panic. Then the site it was covered in piles of abandoned sandalsclothes and a crutch, while a suit-clad investigator collected evidence.
At least “85 people were killed and more than 322 injured” in the incident in Sana’a’s Bab al Yemen district, a Houthi security official said.
“There are women and children among the dead”he said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press. A medical source confirmed the toll.
In the poorest nation on the Arabian Peninsula, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed directly or indirectly by war, and Millions of people are on the verge of famine.
The head of the Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee, Mohamed Ali al-Huthi, attributed the stampede to the “mob”.
The crowd has gathered A narrow street which led to the entrance to the school, he said. Once the doors opened, people rushed up a stairway that led to the courtyard where the distribution was taking place.
“People were informed a week ago the money would be delivered without identity verificationa witness said.
“People flocked, the gate was opened and with the amount of people the stampede happened,” he added.
Rebel police chief Mahdi al Mashat said he had trained a commission to investigate the facts, in a country where there is no law or order.
AFP extension
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.