Ali Daqneesh, 9, was playing on the street outside the family’s flat in the northern city of Aleppo when the building was destroyed, apparently by a Russian airstrike, on Wednesday.
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The brother of a wounded Syrian boy who gained worldwide attention has died, say the Opposition activists.
The BBC reports that he suffered internal bleeding and organ damage after the 17 August bombing. Omran has been released from the hospital and is now recovering with the rest of his family.
“Omran.is still alive, and God willing will continue his life in better conditions than the ones he is living in now”, said Dr. Abu Rasoul, who treated the deceased brother.
His 5-year-old brother was also wounded in the Wednesday airstrike, that hit their house in Aleppo. Omran was videotaped and photographed as he sat in an ambulance, appearing stunned and caked in dust; the images circulated throughout the world, provoking horror, and turning Omran into a symbol of the evils of war.
‘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.
More than 290,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in Syria’s civil war, which began in 2011. “He had undergone two surgeries”.
“Ali’s heart stopped and we tried to rescue him”.
The image spread across social media and sparked interest in the situation in Aleppo, much like the picture of a child’s body on a Turkish beach raised sympathy for refugees who fled Syria. Since 2012, east Aleppo has been controlled by the rebels, while west Aleppo is under government control. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 448 civilians have been killed in air strikes this month in and around Aleppo.
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Last spring as Russian Federation entered the war – supposedly to fight the Islamic State – their bombs struck a pediatric hospital in Aleppo run by Doctors Without Borders.
