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Indonesia facing 'difficulty' in verifying nationality of dead pregnant woman in Syria
The conflict in Syria and the use of fake passports is posing difficulties in verifying the woman's Indonesian citizenship.
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Displaced Syrian women and children walk toward the Al-Hol camp on Feb. 7, 2019 in Al-Hasakeh, northeastern Syria. (AFP/Fadel Senna)
T
he Indonesian Embassy in Damascus is seeking to verify information about a pregnant woman whose body was recently discovered at the Kurdish-run Al-Hol refugee camp in Al-Hasakah, northeastern Syria.
The woman is believed to be an Indonesian national and an Islamic State (IS) sympathizer, but the war in Syria is complicating efforts to verify her citizenship.
"The armed conflict and violence in Syria make the verification process more difficult and complex," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Wednesday night.
The discovery of the woman's body in a tent at the Al-Hol camp was first reported by Syria's Hawar News Agency.
According to Hawar, the woman had been identified as Sodermini or Sudarmini and was believed to be around 30 years old. It also reported that she was found when authorities received reports of a dead body inside a tent within the camp area, and was then rushed to a Kurdish Red Crescent hospital.
"Moreover, according to the news report, the alleged death occurred in an area that is under a group that opposes the recognized Syrian government,” Teuku said, suggesting that the Indonesian government could not communicate with a unrecognized entity.
An autopsy discovered that Sudarmini was six months pregnant at the time of her death and bruises on her body that indicated she was beaten and tortured, Hawar News reported. Authorities were yet to discover the motive for her murder.
