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20-04-2023
SANA’A: At least 78 people have been killed in a crush at a school in the Yemeni capital Sanaa during a distribution of charity for Ramadan, officials say.
Video footage on social media shows chaotic scenes after the incident in the Bab-al-Yemen area of the city.
Media reports that hundreds of people crowded into the school to receive donations which amounted to about $9 (£7) per person.
Houthi rebels have run the city since they drove out the government in 2015.
Those responsible for the distribution have been detained and an investigation is under way, the interior ministry said.
Many people were also injured with 13 in a critical situation, a health official in Sanaa said.
The Associated Press news agency quotes two eyewitnesses who said Houthi fighters had fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently striking an electrical wire which resulted in an explosion. This caused panic that led to the crush, they added.
The event happened during the final days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is marked by a period of fasting.
Yemen has been devastated by the conflict that escalated in 2015, when the Houthis seized control of large parts of the west of the country.
President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi fled abroad and a Saudi-led alliance of Arab states intervened to restore his rule. However, years of military stalemate followed.
The fighting has reportedly left more than 150,000 people dead and more than 23 million people, three-quarters of the population in need of some form of aid.
Last week a major prisoner swap between warring sides in Yemen started, seen as part of stepped-up efforts to end the devastating eight-year conflict. (Int’l News Desk)
