ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Celebratory Newroz gunfire in Duhok on Sunday sent a 15-year-old refugee girl from northeastern Syria (Rojava) into a coma.
Ayjan Abdulmalik was struck in the head by a stray bullet fired during Newroz celebrations, according to her family. She has been in intensive care for two days at a private hospital in Duhok. The bullet is still lodged in her skull.
“We were preparing for Newroz celebrations and were so happy. She went back home with her grandmother [to pick up supplies]. She was hit right in front of the door,” Ayjan’s mother Jivin Nazir told Rudaw on Monday.
“My only wish is to help my daughter and not let her die. I ask for advice on how to take our daughter abroad for treatment,” added the mother, saying the prognosis from the doctors has not given her hope.
The incident took place at Domiz camp, home to just over 32,000 refugees who have fled their towns and villages in Syria. Ayjan’s family fled their home in a village near Qamishli in 2012. She has two younger sisters and their father is a Peshmerga fighter.
The family doesn’t know what direction the bullet that struck Ayjan came from and so far, no one has been arrested.
“We were seeing gunfire in the sky, but I cannot identify the exact location of the gunfire due to the noise of the fireworks. We are not sure if the gunfire was inside or outside the camp,” Hassan Tamo, Ayjan’s uncle, told Rudaw on Monday.
Her father, Abdulmalik Hussein, urged authorities to put an end to celebratory gunfire, a common occurrence in the Kurdistan Region.
“I urge the authorities to put an end to the gunfire, which repeatedly happens every year. My daughter is injured today, but there will be another one tomorrow in another place,” said Hussein. “Instead of going to the celebrations, we have come to the hospital.”
Ayjan’s doctor, Rubad Jameel, said the next 72 hours will be critical for the teenager who needs major surgery to remove the bullet still lodged in her skull. But that surgery is not possible here.
“Treatment is difficult here because we do not have the medical equipment to remove the bullet from her head. It’s better if she is given treatment outside the Kurdistan Region where there are better devices to conduct this surgery. It has severely damaged her health. So far, her left side is weakened and it has injured her brain. Even after the bullet removal, she will need a long time to recover," said the doctor.
Hundreds of thousands of people across the Kurdistan Region own firearms, either as members of the security forces or private citizens. During celebrations, some of them use gunfire to mark the occasion.
Authorities have repeatedly promised to crack down on unauthorized gun ownership with little success and dozens of gun markets still operate across the Region.
With reporting by Naif Ramadhan
