Omran Daqneesh
Omran Daqneesh (Arabic: عمران دقنيش) is a Syrian boy who, at age five, gained media attention after footage of him injured in what was alleged to have been an air strike appeared on the Internet.[1][2]
History
Daqneesh was injured on August 17, 2016, in an alleged Russian Air Force strike on the rebel-held al-Qaterji neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria. He suffered a wound to his head and was taken to a hospital known as M10 and later discharged.
Daqneesh was rescued with his parents and three siblings, then aged one, six, and ten. His ten-year-old brother, Ali, died on August 20, 2016, of his injuries.[3] The apartment building collapsed shortly after the family was rescued. Eight people died in the air strike, including five children. The footage was released by the Aleppo Media Centre, a Syrian opposition activist group.
The image of him sitting bloodied in an ambulance after being dragged from the rubble of his home[4][5] caused international outrage and was widely featured in newspapers and social media. It has been compared with photographs of Alan Kurdi, a child refugee of the Syrian Civil War who drowned trying to reach Europe.[4]
Chinese and Russian media, both allies of the Syrian Army, called the images "propaganda". Some international media have proposed that the image was staged.[6]
In June 2017, new photos and videos of the boy emerged from Syrian government media.[7][8] In an interview with Kinana Alloush, a presenter for Syrian government-run TV "who once took a selfie with the corpses of opposition fighters, Omran’s father said that his son had been used as a 'propaganda tool' by rebel forces, and that the family had always been pro-regime."[8] His father also criticized rebel groups in Aleppo for attempting to exploit his family as propaganda to push for regime-change.[9][10]
See also
References
- ^ "Boy in the ambulance: shocking image emerges of Syrian child pulled from Aleppo rubble". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ "How Omran Daqneesh, 5, Became a Symbol of Aleppo's Suffering". The New York Times. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
- ^ Reilly, Katie. "Brother of Aleppo Boy in Ambulance Dies". time.com. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ^ a b "How Omran Daqneesh, 5, Became a Symbol of Aleppo's Suffering". The New York Times. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ^ "'I filmed the Syrian boy pulled from the rubble - his wasn't a rare case'". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ "China says Omran images are part of Western 'propaganda war'". independent.co.uk. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ "New footage emerges of Syrian boy who gave a face to the suffering in Aleppo". The Guardian. 5 June 2017.
- ^ a b "A picture of Omran Daqneesh became the face of Aleppo's suffering. New footage shows he is safe and well". The Independent. 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
- ^ Sanchez, Raf (5 June 2017). "New photos emerge of Omran Daqneesh, the boy who became a symbol of Aleppo's suffering". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ Specia, Megan (6 June 2017). "Syrian Boy Who Became Image of Civil War Reappears". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 June 2017.