Dazed and bloodied boy becomes face of Syria's besieged Aleppo

Thousands of people have shared the image of a bloodied and dazed boy who was pulled from a building in Syria's Aleppo following a bombing raid on the besieged city.

Five-year-old Omran Daqneesh was reported by the Telegraph as being one of five children injured in an air strike on a building late on Wednesday in Syria's second city.

Graphic footage published by the Aleppo Media Centre shows the small child being lifted from rubble and being put on a seat inside an ambulance. 

Once inside the ambulance the boy sits motionless on the seat, looking dazed and confused, covered head-to-toe in dust, before raising his left arm to wipe away blood that covered one side of his head.

The Telegraph reported that Daqneesh was treated at hospital and later released.

The image of the child inside the ambulance has been shared widely on social media websites, including by former British MP and current head of the International Rescue Committee David Miliband.

The battle for Aleppo has intensified over recent weeks after rebel groups broke a weeks-long siege by the joint forces of President Bashar al-Assad and his ally Russia. The International Committee of the Red Cross has described the battle as one of the most devastating urban conflicts in modern times.

With Aleppo being pounded, Russian officials have said they are working with their American counterparts to try and find a solution to end fighting in the city.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday: “We are now in a very active phase of negotiations with our American colleagues.

“We are moving step by step closer to a plan – and I’m only talking about Aleppo here – that would really allow us to start fighting together to bring peace so that people can return to their homes in this troubled land.”

This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.