Family devastated after Syrian Kurd's immolation outside UNHCR

Record ID: 1438519

  • Title: Family devastated after Syrian Kurd's immolation outside UNHCR
  • Date: 24th October 2019
  • Summary: LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (OCTOBER 24, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (French) ALI WAZIR'S BROTHER, LAZKIN WEZIR, SAYING: "And I don't know if it was someone who talked with him when he was in front of the entrance (of the Refugee agency), or if he said it whilst he was burning, but someone asked him, "Who are you, why are you doing this?" And he answered "I am a Kurd, I live in Germany, I speak German, and I am doing this because of what is happening in Rojava, to the Kurds." VARIOUS OF WEZIR'S FAMILY AND FRIENDS SITTING AROUND TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (French) ALI WEZIR'S BROTHER, LAZKIN WEZIR, SAYING: "He was really shocked, he would keep watching videos of what is happening there (in Rojava), how they (Turkey) are killing everyone there, how Kurds are being killed and are dying. Videos showing children dying, showing women dying, showing all Kurds dying. And he was really shocked, because of that, he was really tired, and would keep on asking, "what is this, why is all this happening, this is not normal." POSTER FOR DEMONSTRATION STACKED ON STAGE
  • Embargoed: 7th November 2019 18:50
  • Keywords: Syrian Kurd sets himself on fire Ali Wazir Kurds UN refugee crisis Kurdistan Syria
  • Location: LAUSANNE AND GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
  • City: LAUSANNE AND GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
  • Country: Switzerland
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA003B2GKL6V
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Relatives of Ali Wezir, a 32-year old Syrian Kurd who set himself on fire in front of the U.N. Refugee agency (UNHCR) in Geneva, said on Thursday (October 24) that the Turkish military operation in northern Syria launched at the beginning of October was the reason for his act.
    A German resident for the past four years, the father of two boys aged 2 and 5, Syrian Kurd Ali Wezir set himself on fire on Wednesday (October 23) while visiting one of his brothers, Lazkin Wezir.
    Members of the Kurdish diaspora gathered outside the UNHCR to stand in solidarity with Wezir and to denounce the U.N.'s silence and failure to act.
    Wezir is currently receiving treatment at the specialised burns unit at the university hospital in Lausanne, Geneva police spokesman Silvain Guillaume-Gentil said on Wednesday.
    The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) accused Turkey on Thursday of launching a large land offensive targeting three villages in northeast Syria despite a truce. Turkey's military operation was widely condemned by its NATO allies, which said it was causing a fresh humanitarian crisis in Syria's eight-year conflict and could let Islamic State prisoners held by the YPG escape and regroup.
    (Production: Marina Depetris, Louisa Naks)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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