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Brother of Omran Daqneesh dies from injuries sustained in Aleppo air-strike

The older brother of a Syrian boy pictured bloodied and dazed after an air strike in Aleppo has d...
Newstalk
Newstalk

21.47 20 Aug 2016


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Brother of Omran Daqneesh dies...

Brother of Omran Daqneesh dies from injuries sustained in Aleppo air-strike

Newstalk
Newstalk

21.47 20 Aug 2016


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The older brother of a Syrian boy pictured bloodied and dazed after an air strike in Aleppo has died of injuries sustained in the same incident.

Ali Daqneesh (10) was wounded in the air strike on Wednesday alongside his three siblings, his mother and his father.

A spokesman for the local council of Aleppo said: "He was martyred while in hospital as a result of the same bombardment that their house was subjected to."

Footage of Ali's five-year-old brother Omran has been shared online and the boy has become a symbol of Syria's devastating civil war.

The paramedic who was filmed in the now-iconic footage said cases like theirs are a daily occurrence in war-torn Aleppo.

"The media reaction was because the strike on the Qaterji neighbourhood was a big massacre so when this child emerged there were lots of journalists," Ammar Hammami said.

"I want to send a message to the world that Omran isn't the first child to be injured because of Russian airstrikes on Aleppo.

"Everyday we're losing hundreds of dead and injured just here in Aleppo."

His words were echoed by the nurse who helped treat Omran once the injured were brought to hospital.

"[Omran's] not the only one, there are lots of children who are injured or killed under the bombs and no one is focused on them," the nurse, who gave his name as Mudar, said.

"We want to make our voices heard that these children have nothing to do with this war and it's such a shame that these planes - what we believe to be Russian planes - these children are being involved…they've got no reason to be involved in this war. And God willing Syria will be victorious."

In the harrowing footage, Omran is seen running his hand over his face, looking at the blood on his hands and wiping it on the chair.

"It's the first time I've seen a child like him, said Hammami.

"Usually when a child gets out of an airstrike they're crying, their voice fills up everything but this child didn't say a thing.

"I took him to the ambulance and I tried to speak to him but he didn't say a word. He said nothing.

"Eventually he managed to ask me where's my mum and dad? That's it. That's all."

Omran was later reunited with his parents following the air strike.

More than 290,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in Syria's civil war, which began in 2011.

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