Yemen: Stampede kills at least 78, injures dozens in Sanaa

At least 78 people were killed and dozens more were injured in a stampede in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, Houthi officials said on Thursday.

The Houthi Interior Ministry said dozens of people were taken to nearby hospitals. 

"We are experiencing a great tragedy, a large number of our citizens have died during this stampede," said Abdulaziz Bin Habtour, the prime minister of the Houthi movement which controls northern Yemen.

Three people had been detained on suspicion of involvement, a Houthi security official told the AFP news agency. The Interior Ministry said in a separate statement that two merchants responsible for organizing the event where the stampede occurred had been detained.

AFP cited an anonymous Houthi official as saying that 85 were killed and 322 were injured, however, estimates for those killed and injured varied and an official count has not been confirmed.

The tragedy struck the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country days ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

How did the stampede happen?

The stampede broke out at an event to distribute financial aid in the Old City in the center of Sanaa.

Hundreds of people had entered a school to receive donations at the aid event. Two eyewitnesses told Reuters the sums given there amounted to 5,000 Yemeni riyals (€18, $20) per person.

Following the stampede, officials quickly sealed off the school and barred people from approaching.

The Interior Ministry said the event was not coordinated with local authorities and that an investigation was underway.

"Dozens of people were killed due to a stampede during a random distribution of sums of money by some merchants," the ministry said.

A spokesman for the ministry described the event as "tragic."

The Associated Press cited an eyewitness as saying that Houthi officials shot in the air in an attempt to control the crowd, striking an electrical wire that then exploded. This caused panic leading to a stampede, according to the eyewitnesses.

The Houthis said they would pay some $2,000 in compensation to each family who lost a relative.

The injured would receive around $400.

How did the Houthis come to control Yemen's capital?

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have controlled Sanaa since 2014 when the rebel group ousted Yemen's internationally recognized government.

A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015, turning the conflict into a proxy war between Riyadh and Tehran.

Yemen's civil war has killed over 150,000 people and created one of the world's most severe humanitarian disasters.

Earlier this month, a Saudi delegation arrived in Yemen to negotiate a truce with the Houthis. On April 14, the two sides began a prisoner swap, exchanging nearly 900 detainees.

The top negotiator of Yemen's Houthi movement said the recent talks with Saudi Arabia had made progress and further discussions would be held.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 21 million people in Yemen, or two-thirds of the country's population, require help and protection.

In February, the UN said it had raised only $1.2 billion out of a $4.3 billion target at a conference aimed at gathering funds for humanitarian aid for Yemen.

sdi/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters)