Yazidi woman commits suicide in Duhok province IDP camp: brother

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A 20-year-old Yazidi woman found dead in her tent at a camp for the internally displaced in Duhok province on Monday had committed suicide, her brother told Rudaw.

Asmahan Khidir was found hanging from a rope noose in her tent in Esyan Camp in Duhok’s Shekhan district, according to her brother Ilyas, who said she had committed suicide. 

Asmahan and her family fled their hometown of Shingal in 2014, when the Islamic State (ISIS) swept through the district.

“She got married last year but the marriage ended in eight months,” Ilyas told Rudaw on Monday.

Asmahan moved back in with her parents when the marriage ended, Ilyas said.

Local police were investigating the incident whose cause was “not clear”, Karwan Zaki, head of media for Duhok’s migration directorate told Rudaw earlier on Monday.

Hemin Sulaiman, spokesperson for Duhok police, refused to comment on Asmahan’s death “because we do not think it is good to publish such stories”.

Rudaw’s team in Duhok was denied access to the incident area by the camp administration. 

The all-Yazidi Esyan camp is home to 13,408 people, living in 3,003 tents. The camp was established in 2014, according to camp head Saadullah Abdullah.

With reporting by Ayub Nasri