It is reported that the young man from East Kurdistan, who burned himself in front of the UN office in Hewler, Kurdistan Region on May 18, was a former peshmerga and protested the poor living conditions.
On May 18, two young men carried out a demonstration in front of the UN representation in Hewler (Erbil) in protest at poor living conditions.
The two warned that if their demands are not met, they will immolate themselves. Yet, nobody came to talk to them as they kept waiting.
One of the two young men then poured fuel on his body and set himself on fire as the journalists were shooting a video of the event.
While nobody intervened for a while, later, UN’s security guards and passers-by put out the fire.
It is reported that the condition of Mihemed Mahmudi, who was taken to the Hewlêr hospital, is critical.
27-year-old Mahmudi said the following before the cameras before setting his body on fire: “Do we have to live this way because of my political activity? Is this life? We've been living like stray dogs for four years.”
According to AFP, Mahmudi said that,"If I return to Iran, I will be executed. We no longer have shelters here except for public parks, mosques or constructions."
Several of his friends, who wanted to remain anonymous, told AFP that Mahmudi was a former peshmerga fighter coming from the Bukan city.
Mahmudi had applied to the UN to receive political asylum in 2017.
The UN Hewler office has not released any statement on the incident yet.
