Sana’a: Yemen’s ministry of interior said 142 people, including 35 women, committed suicide in many provinces in the first six months of this year.
The ministry’s website reported that the suicide cases occurred in most of the country’s poverty-stricken regions. The southern province of Taiz topped the list with 21 cases, followed by the capital Sana’a with 20. No cases were recorded in the mountainous province of Rayma.
The highest number of suicide cases in the last four years was registered in 2012 with 253 cases.
In 2011, Yemen ministry of interior said that 235 people, including 24 children, committed suicide.
Researchers in Yemen admit that they cannot explain for sure the reasons behind the increasing number of suicide cases. But officials usually refer to a number possible explanations, including family disagreements, proliferation of arms, abject poverty, and drug addiction.
In June, police said two young girls had committed suicides in two places in one day because of family problems. The first girl, 20, overdosed on drugs, while the other girl, 22, shot herself.
Separately, police said on Saturday that a lightning storm killed three boys, including two brothers, in the western province of Hodeida. The boys were aged 8-12. Official statistics point out 20 people were killed in thunderstorms, mostly in mountainous areas.
