Syrian Kurdish man sets himself on fire in front of U.N. refugee agency in Geneva
Record ID:
1438282
Syrian Kurdish man sets himself on fire in front of U.N. refugee agency in Geneva
- Title: Syrian Kurdish man sets himself on fire in front of U.N. refugee agency in Geneva
- Date: 23rd October 2019
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (OCTOBER 23, 2019) (REUTERS) UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES (UNHCR) HEADQUARTERS / MAN CLEANING IN FRONT OF UNHCR ENTRANCE MAN CLEANING IN FRONT OF UNHCR ENTRANCE SIGN READING (English and French) "UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES" GROUND WET WITH CLEANING PRODUCT IN FRONT OF UNHCR ENTRANCE / UNHCR ENTRANCE VARIOUS OF MELTED PIECES OF PLASTIC ON GROUND IN FRONT OF ENTRANCE UNHCR ENTRANCE UNHCR BUILDING (SOUNDBITE) (French) GENEVA POLICE SPOKESMAN, SILVAIN-GUILLAUME GENTIL, SAYING: "Regarding what exactly happened this morning, what we have managed to reconstruct is that the man had just been to a gas station, where he had doused himself with gasoline, before going the entrance of the High Commissioner's building, a 50 meters away, where he set himself on fire." BACK OF UNHCR BUILDING / GAS STATION WHERE THE MAN DOUSED HIMSELF WITH GASOLINE VARIOUS OF GAS STATION GENEVA POLICE HEADQUARTERS SIGN READING (French) "POLICE" WITH FLAGS (SOUNDBITE) (French) GENEVA POLICE SPOKESMAN, SILVAIN-GUILLAUME GENTIL, SAYING: "He was then taken into the care of the emergency services, he was transported, conscious, to hospital in Lausanne." POLICE SIGN BLURRING (SOUNDBITE) (French) GENEVA POLICE SPOKESMAN, SILVAIN-GUILLAUME GENTIL, SAYING: "The victim is a man from Syria, a Kurd from Syria, he was born in 1988 and as far as we know he is living in Germany. Regarding his motives, obviously at the present time we have not been able to talk to him given his condition. For now, we have a lot of unanswered questions." VARIOUS OF UNHCR HEADQUARTERS
- Embargoed: 6th November 2019 13:51
- Keywords: man sets himself on fire setting himself on fire U.N. refugee agency UNHCR Geneva Syrian Kurd
- Location: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- City: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Country: France
- Topics: Government/Politics,United Nations
- Reuters ID: LVA001B2BK9JB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A Syrian Kurdish man in his 30s set himself on fire outside the United Nations refugee agency in Geneva on Wednesday (October 23), and was quickly airlifted to a hospital in Lausanne, police said.
Shortly after 0700 local time (0500GMT), rescue services and police were called arriving on the scene to find that UNHCR security officers and medical services had already intervened and managed to extinguish the flames.
The man, who is believed to live in Germany, was flown by helicopter to the specialised burns unit at the university hospital in Lausanne, where he is receiving treatment.
According to police, the man had gone minutes before to a nearby gas station, where he had doused himself with gasoline.
They said that given his state, it was impossible question him about his motives, refusing to give any details about his condition.
The UNHCR refused to comment on camera.
Turkish forces launched an offensive into northern Syria on October 9, to drive Kurdish militia away from the border region. Russia and Turkey reached an accord on Tuesday calling for the withdrawal of Syrian Kurdish YPG forces from the entire length of Syria's northeastern frontier with Turkey.
(Production: Marina Depetris) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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