Tunisian sets self on fire outside Libyan embassy in Berlin

                   
A young Tunisian suffered life threatening injuries after  setting himself on fire outside the Libyan embassy in Berlin on Friday, German police said, adding the man was known to embassy staff and his motivations did not appear to be political.                 

"A man came to the front of the Libyan embassy with a bottle of lamp oil. The security guards knew this man already, and there have been previous disagreements over his demands for money from the embassy," a police spokesman said.               

The guards called the police, he added, but the young man poured the oil over himself and ignited it. He was taken by helicopter to hospital.                 

The police spokesman said that there are often disagreements at the embassy over the compensation payments many people come to collect for injuries suffered during the war in Libya.                   

"According to our initial investigations it seems there is no political motive for this self-harm, rather it appears to stem from a disagreement over the payments of compensation."


REUTERS