At least 42 people were killed and more than 80 injured in a
stampede Tuesday in a Yemeni stadium where President Ali Abdullah
Saleh was holding a pre-election rally, a Yemeni official said.
The official, who declined to be named, said the 42 people were
killed in the crush that took place after the president left and
people rushed to get out of the stadium in the southern province of
Ibb.
A reporter at the scene said the stadium was very crowded, with
people standing on the ground as well as in the stands. Some
150,000 people were inside the building and an even larger number
had thronged the streets surrounding it.
He saw ambulances and police cars rushing the injured to
hospital.
"The president promised to compensate the families who lost a
relative today. They will receive monthly salaries," the official
said.
In Taiz province, 250 kilometers southwest of the capital Sanaa,
at least four people were killed and 10 injured on Monday in a
stampede at a similar election rally, government officials said
without giving further details.
Ibb, which is both the name of the town and the province, is
about 170 kilometers south of Sanaa.
Yemen is due to hold presidential and local council elections
next Wednesday. Saleh, the poor country's long-serving president
and the front-runner in the poll, is touring Yemeni provinces to
drum up support for his campaign.
Previous elections have been marred by shootings between members
of rival parties in Yemen, where many people carry arms, but
stampedes are unusual.
Other than the two stampedes, at least eight people have been
killed so far in the run-up to the vote which five candidates,
including Saleh, are contesting.
(China Daily September 13, 2006)
