Summary Omran Daqneesh became a symbol of Syrian suffering after being photographed following an airstrike.
(Web Desk) - New photographs have emerged of Omran Daqneesh, the Syrian boy who rose as a symbol of Syrian suffering after being photographed in an injured condition after an airstrike in Aleppo.
Three-year-old Omran became an icon of Syrian suffering last August when an airstrike allegedly carried out by Syrian and Russian forces in his neighbourhood badly injured him. As the disoriented boy sat in the ambulance, he was photographed by journalists in the area. The picture showed the boy in a helpless condition with expressions on his face showing his inability to understand what had just happened.
The picture spread like wildfire across the world and became a symbol of Syrian suffering in the civil war. Many who opposed Bashar al-Assad used this picture to criticise the barbarity of the regime and the brutal tactics he was employing to crush rebels in opposition-held areas.
The latest photographs published on social media show a healthy boy sitting on his father s knee.
New photographs starting to emerge of Omran Daqneesh, the little boy who became a symbol of Aleppo s suffering. pic.twitter.com/a0NHhgubwS
— Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) June 5, 2017
Interestingly however, Omran s family, like others in opposition-held areas in East Aleppo, remained loyal to the Assad regime throughout the siege of Aleppo, even while they were being bombed by regime forces.
According to a report in Telegraph.co.uk, Omran s family reportedly refused interviews and went to regime-held areas in West Aleppo after the incident.
Omran s family was interviewed by several pro-Assad Syrian TV channels recently. According to the report in Telegraph, in one of the interviews, Omran s father said that rebel groups and international media had used Omran s photograph to criticise the Assad regime. He added that he had to shave his son s head to disguise him and protect him from all the media attention.
He said, "They wanted to trade in his blood and published his photos," implying his disagreement with how Omran s image was used by the media.
A pro-regime journalist, Kinana Allouche, posted photographs on Facebook of herself interviewing Omran s family. She posted the photos with the caption, "The child Omran, those who tried to shed Syrian blood mislead the news that he was hit by the Syrian Arab Army. Here he now lives in the Syrian state with its army, its leader and its people."
It is important to mention here that Omran s older 10-year-old brother was killed in the same airstrike. It seems strange that Omran s father would continue to support Assad even after it has been reported that the strike was carried by the regime or its allies. It could be a possibility that Omran s family was forced to do this interview as a form of propaganda by the regime to show that Syrian populace remains loyal to Assad even after his brutalities in the Syrian Civil War.
