Suicides reach 81 cases in north Iraq’s Yezidi areas in 2011

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A 20-year-old young man has committed suicide in Baashiqa township of north Iraq’s Ninewa Province on Wednesday, according to a government source in the township, adding that the victim had been a student in a collage in Mosul, the center of Ninewa Province. The source said that the suicide case of the young man had been the sixth in one month in areas, inhabited by a Yezidi majority in areas, belonging to Ninewa Province, but are under the power of north Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. The website of the Yezidi Fraternity & Solidarity Organization pointed out that the number of persons who committed suicide from both sexes, belonging to the Yezidi Community, had reached 81 suicide cases in 2011 in the areas, inhabited by Yezisis, confirming that the Organization had been busy since over one year to implement projects to cut down the said phenomena. The Director of the Project, Uday Cruz, said that his Organization “is striving to implement projects and programs to minimize the said phenomena, in order to put an end for the suicide attempts. He said that 2003 had witnessed one suicide case only in the Yezidi area, whilst 2005 had witnessed 3 suicide cases, and 2008 – 13 cases, and 2010 – 46 cases, with 2011 that witnessed 81 suicide cases. SKH (ST) 2408