Scores killed, injured in stampede during charity distribution in Yemen

More than 80 people have been killed and hundreds injured in war-torn Yemen after a charity distribution sparked one of the deadliest stampedes in a decade, Houthi officials said.

The tragedy late on Wednesday to strike the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country came days ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al Fitr which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

At least "85 were killed and more than 322 were injured" after the stampede in the Bab al Yemen district of the capital, a Houthi security official said.

"Women and children were among the dead," he told AFP on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to journalists. A second health official confirmed the toll.

An AFP correspondent in Houthi-controlled Sanaa said the incident took place inside a school where aid was being distributed.

Hundreds of people had gathered to receive handouts, according to witnesses.

Armed Houthis fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently striking an electrical wire and causing it to explode, according to two witnesses, Abdel Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen. That sparked a panic, and people, including many women and children, began stampeding, they said.

The dead and injured have been moved to nearby hospitals and those responsible for the distribution were taken into custody, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the rebel's Saba news agency.

The ministry did not provide an exact toll but said "dozens of people were killed due to a stampede during a random distribution of sums of money by some merchants".

The Houthi rebel's political chief Mahdi al Mashat said a committee has been formed to investigate.

A Houthi security official said three people had been detained on suspicion of involvement.

Widespread poverty

Videos circulating on social media showed bodies lying on the ground of a large complex as people clamoured around them.

AFP could not independently verify the footage.

Families rushed to hospitals amid heavy security deployment but many were not allowed to enter as top officials were also visiting the dead and wounded.

Large crowds descended on one hospital entrance, an AFP correspondent in Sanaa said.

Security forces also deployed heavily around the school where the incident took place, according to the correspondent. They blocked relatives from entering the facility to locate their loved ones.

Distributing financial aid is a ritual during Ramadan, when the faithful fast from dawn to dusk.

People had gathered to receive about $10 each from a charity funded by local businessmen, witnesses said. Wealthy people and businessmen often hand out cash and food, especially to the poor during Ramadan.

Interior Ministry spokesperson Brigadier Abdel Khaleq al Aghri, blamed the crush on the "random distribution" of funds without coordination with local authorities. 

READ MORE: World Bank allocates over $200 million to support food security in Yemen

Civil war

Civil war broke out in Yemen in 2014, when Houthi rebels seized Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year to prop up the internationally recognised government.

Fighting eased dramatically after a six-month, UN-brokered truce last year, even after it expired in October.

But the war unleashed what the United Nations describes as one of the world's worst humanitarian tragedies.

More than two-thirds of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the UN, including government employees in Houthi-controlled areas who have not been paid in years.

Over 21.7 million people — two-thirds of the country — need humanitarian assistance this year, according to the UN.

The stampede tragedy dims the cheer of a massive prisoner exchange between the country's warring parties, which saw nearly 900 detainees freed over the weekend.

On Monday, more than 100 other prisoners of war were flown from Saudi Arabia to Yemen.

READ MORE: Yemeni rebels, govt forces free scores of prisoners as swap deal completed