Boy a symbol of Aleppo’s agony
Family found alive in rubble as picture of dazed child stirs renewed calls for end to war
THE family of a young Syrian boy whose picture has become a symbol of the suffering endured by civilians living under relentless bombardment in the country’s civil war have been pulled alive from the rubble of their home.
When 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh, covered in dust and blood after an air strike, was filmed in an ambulance on Wednesday evening, the fate of his parents and siblings was unclear.
He sat alone in dazed silence, trying to wipe his hands clean, in harrowing images that have provoked outrage across the world.
Rescue workers described how they had pulled the little boy from the ruins of his home after it was hit in the latest round of bombing in rebel-held areas of Aleppo.
Mahmoud Raslan, who photographed Omran, said volunteers searching for survivors formed a human chain. “We were passing them from one balcony to the other.”
Raslan carried three lifeless bodies before being handed the little boy and taking him to the ambulance.
Doctors reported that five children and three adults had died in the strike, but Omran’s family were not among them.
His siblings, aged 1, 6 and 11, and his parents, were pulled injured but alive from the rubble.
“We sent the younger children to the ambulance, but the 11-year-old girl waited for her mother to be rescued. Her ankle was trapped in the rubble,” Raslan said.
Charities say Omran and his family face an uncertain future, as Aleppo continues to be the focus of bombardment, and aid is unable to enter rebel-held areas.
Kirsty McNeill, director of advocacy, policy and campaigns at Save the Children, said dozens of children had been killed in Aleppo in the past week, with many more dying in homes and schools across Syria.
“We urgently need a 48hour ceasefire, but that is not enough. We must find a way to end the siege and bombard- ment of civilians.”
The city is split between regime and rebel control. Regime forces and their Russian allies insist they are targeting “terrorists”, but hundreds of civilians have died.
Mark Schnellbaecher, from the International Rescue Committee, said at least 400 000 people had died in the war and 13.5 million needed aid.
“The image of Omran is stirring people worldwide to demand an end to the conflict.” – The Independent