Incident
Kurdish journalist died from her injuries after Sinjar clashes
Details
Kurdish media earlier reported that Tuba’s health condition had improved after being injured in Sinjar/Shingal clashes, but the reports were apparently inaccurate.
Born in the Hilvan district of Urfa, Tuba went to the Kurdistan region of Iraq to join the ‘human shield protest’ in 2005.
Tuba, who used the name Nujiyan Erhan, worked as a reporter for the PKK-affiliated media from Iraqi Kurdistan, including in Qandil and Sinjar.
Sporadic clashes took place between forces affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on 3 March, in which 7 PKK-affiliated fighters were killed and several fighters were injured. Since then disputes continued between the KDP and PKK, but clashes stopped after negotiations.
In the clashes at least three journalists were injured, including Çıra TV journalists Hadi İlyas and İzzet İsmet alongside journalist Tuba Akyılmaz.
Moreover, Rojda, a female journalist, was slightly injured during a protest in Sinjar on 14 March, in which one protestor was killed.
