Saudi man dies after setting himself on fire

[News_Editor]

Saudi man dies after setting himself on fire

2011-01-23 01:11:16 GMT+7 (ICT)

RIYADH (BNO NEWS) - A Saudi man has died after setting himself on fire in the southern part of the kingdom, officials said on Saturday.

The 60-year-old man was admitted to hospital while suffering 95 percent burns after pouring kerosene on himself, said Yehya Qahtani, spokesman of Civil Defense department in Jizan Province, according to the local Okaz newspaper.

The official added that local police are investigating the reason of the incident.

In recent weeks, there have been a number of self-immolation acts to protest economic conditions in Arab countries such as Yemen, Algeria, and Egypt.

On Tuesday, a 25-year-old man was killed in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria after failing to find a job as a lawyer. It echoed a similar action on Monday when a 49-year-old man put himself on fire near the Egyptian parliament in downtown Cairo.

The act in Alexandria appeared to be similar to a protest earlier this month in Tunisia, leading to last week's rebellion that led to Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's resignation. There, Mohsen Bouterfif set himself on fire after a meeting with the mayor of Boukhadra in Tebessa who was unable to offer Bouterfif a job and a house.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-01-23

[geriatrickid]

I don't think this fad will catch on in Gaza.