KULOB, October 15, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- 66 suicide cases have been registered in Khatlon’s Kulob zone over the first nine months of this year, which is seven cases more than in the same period of last year, Colonel Boturkhon Rahmatov, the deputy chief of the Khatlon police directorate in charge of the Kulob zone, remarked at a news conference in Kulob on October 14.

This year, suicide cases have been reported in all ten districts of the area, Rahmatov said.

“The largest number of suicide cases has been registered in the city and the district of Kulob – 21 cases, Vose district has reported 12 suicide cases, Farkhor – 8 cases, Hamadoni – 7 cases, and Danghara, Khovaling and Muminobod – 4 cases each,” the Kulob police official noted.

According to him, the cause of suicide in 15 cases was family problems and in 22 other cases, the cause of suicide was mental diseases.  30 of the self-killers are women and five are teenagers, Rahmatov said.