Yemen stampede during charity distribution kills 85
More than 80 people were killed and hundreds injured in war-torn Yemen on Thursday after a charity distribution sparked one of the deadliest stampedes in a decade, Houthi officials said. The latest tragedy 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. A second health official confirmed the toll. The incident took place inside a school where aid was being distributed and hundreds of people had gathered to receive handouts, according to witnesses. 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 rebels' 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 rebels' political chief Mahdi al-Mashat said a committee has been formed to investigate. (AFP)