Starvation Stampede in Sanaa Proves Tragic Reality Imposed by Houthis

A picture distributed by the Houthis shows scattered clothes at the site of the stampede in Sanaa (AFP)
A picture distributed by the Houthis shows scattered clothes at the site of the stampede in Sanaa (AFP)
TT
20

Starvation Stampede in Sanaa Proves Tragic Reality Imposed by Houthis

A picture distributed by the Houthis shows scattered clothes at the site of the stampede in Sanaa (AFP)
A picture distributed by the Houthis shows scattered clothes at the site of the stampede in Sanaa (AFP)

Dozens of Yemeni families quietly mourned their children who died in the stampede that occurred in Sanaa days ago, as hundreds gathered at a school to receive cash assistance distributed by a commercial group.

Among them was Fatima, 60, who lost three of her sons, as they hoped to get some money to help their family celebrate Eid al-Fitr.

After approximately 85 people were killed and over 150 were injured while attempting to receive cash assistance of no more than $9, the mourning families opted to bury their loved ones without awaiting the results of the investigation pledged by Houthi authorities.

Instead, they agreed to receive a sum of $2,000 from zakat revenues as compensation for each family. Additionally, Sanaa’s Union of Chambers of Commerce resolved to award each family $5,000 as restitution for their losses.

Mohammed, Fatima’s neighbor, says that since the Houthi rebels cut off salaries for employees seven years ago, her deceased husband’s salary was lost. She was determined not to send her sons to fight with the Houthis, as joining their camps became the only way to obtain a monthly salary and monthly food rations.

According to Mohammed, Fatima has been struggling, selling handmade crafts, and making incense.

When she learned that the commercial group would distribute $9 to each person on that fateful night, she encouraged her three sons to attend to get a sum that would help cover the expenses of Eid al-Fitr, but she lost all three of her sons.

The Houthis tried to use the incident, which remains shrouded in doubt, as a pretext to attack the commercial group that was distributing aid funds. They stormed the group’s offices and arrested two of its owners.

However, the Yemeni people have held the Houthi group responsible for the country’s dire situation, which began with the coup, continued with the seizure of employees’ salaries and state revenues, and culminated in the imposition of multiple taxes and the doubling of zakat amounts.

The group has also siphoned off billions of riyals and allocated them to its leaders and supervisors.



RSF Shelling On Camp Kills 8 in Sudan's Darfur, Say Rescuers

A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
TT
20

RSF Shelling On Camp Kills 8 in Sudan's Darfur, Say Rescuers

A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig

Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled a displacement camp in Sudan's Darfur region on Thursday, killing eight civilians and injuring others, a local rescue group said.

The bombardment hit Abu Shouk camp, which hosts tens of thousands of displaced people on the outskirts of El Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur.

El-Fasher remains the last major stronghold in Sudan's western Darfur region not under the control of the RSF, who have been at war with the regular army since April 2023, AFP reported.

"The Abu Shouk camp witnessed heavy artillery bombardment by the RSF... killing eight people," the camp's Emergency Response Room said in a statement.

In recent weeks, El-Fasher, which has been under RSF siege since last year, has been locked in intense fighting between warring sides in a region also gripped by famine.

Thursday's offensive comes just days after a series of attacks by the RSF targeted another battleground region of Sudan.

More than 450 people, including 35 children, were killed in several villages of North Kordofan, southwest of the capital Khartoum, according to a statement released this week by the UN's children agency.

"No child should ever experience such horrors," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "Violence against children is unconscionable and must end now."

On Sunday, the RSF claimed to have killed more than 470 army personnel near the town of El-Obeid, also in North Kordofan, in a statement posted to its Telegram channel.

Independent verification of casualties in Sudan remains difficult due to restricted access to its conflict zones.

Now in its third year, the conflict has killed tens of thousands and forced millions to flee, creating what the United Nations describes as the world's largest displacement crisis.

In December last year, famine was officially declared in three displacement camps near El-Fasher, namely Zamzam, Abu Shouk and Al-Salam, according to the UN.

Since the Sudanese army regained control of the capital Khartoum in March, the RSF has shifted its operations westward, focusing on Darfur and Kordofan in a bid to consolidate territorial gains.

In April, RSF fighters seized the Zamzam displacement camp, located near Abu Shouk.

The assault forced nearly 400,000 people to flee, according to UN figures, effectively emptying one of the country's largest camps for the displaced.

Sudanese analyst Mohaned el-Nour told AFP the RSF aims to redefine its role in the conflict.

"Their goal is no longer to be seen as a militia, but as an alternative government in western Sudan, undermining the legitimacy of the authorities in Port Sudan."

He added that the recent surge in violence in North Kordofan was likely intended to divert the army's attention from El Fasher, where the military is trying "at all costs" to maintain.