text: BEIRUT (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A young Syrian boy, whose stunned image covered in dust and blood became an iconic symbol of suffering in Aleppo, has appeared in new footage posted by a pro-Syrian government television presenter. 
   
   Omran Daqneesh and his father appeared in a video clip, apparently still living in Aleppo telling the reporter, Kinana Allouche, he didn’t want to leave Syria. 
   
   A photograph of the wounded boy, sitting blankly and alone in the back of an ambulance after an airstrike, was circulated worldwide last August, highlighting the suffering of civilians in besieged east Aleppo. His older brother, Ali, died from his wounds after the attack. 
   
   Daqneesh’s father told the reporter his son was in good health in Aleppo - now under the control of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. He said he had cut his son’s hair and changed his name to protect him from being kidnapped and accused rebels of intimidating the family. 
   
   It was not clear whether the family had been coerced into taking part in the short video posted on Facebook, the first time the boy had been seen publicly since he was wounded. 
   
   However, Valerie Szybala from the Syria Institute, an independent research organisation focused on Syria, said the family was unlikely to have been speaking freely. 
   
   “They are under government control now and this is a government that we know arrests and tortures anyone that speaks out against it ... to me the situation seems to suggest this is probably coerced,” Szybala told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. 
   
   Rebel resistance in Aleppo ended last December after years of fighting and months of bitter siege and bombardment that culminated in a bloody retreat, as insurgents agreed to withdraw in a ceasefire. 
   
   Syria’s civil war, which erupted in 2011 has killed an estimated 465,000 people. ||||| Image copyright @khalediskef Image caption Journalist Khaled Iskef took a selfie with Omran Daqneesh (2nd left) and his family 
   
   New pictures have emerged of Omran Daqneesh, the young Syrian boy who became a symbol of civilian suffering in the city of Aleppo last year. 
   
   A bloodied Omran was filmed after what activists said was an air strike on a rebel enclave that killed his brother. 
   
   On Sunday, he was photographed at his new home in the city, which is now under full government control. 
   
   In interviews with pro-government journalists, Omran's father complained that he had been used as "propaganda". 
   
   Image copyright AFP Image caption The image of Omran sitting in an ambulance sparked international compassion 
   
   Mohammed Daqneesh told a reporter from Iran's Al-Alam TV that the Syrian opposition and international media had wanted to use Omran to attack President Bashar al-Assad. 
   
   "They wanted to trade in his blood and published his photos," he added. 
   
   Mr Daqneesh said he had been sitting with his then five-year-old son when their home was hit on 17 August and that he had not heard a plane overhead. 
   
   He added that Omran had suffered only minor injuries and that the blood on his son's face had dripped on to him from one of his own wounds. 
   
   Image copyright Reuters Image caption Omran Daqneesh's home was destroyed 
   
   As he searched for his three other children among the rubble, "gunmen" took Omran to an ambulance in the street outside and started filming him, Mr Daqneesh said. They then took him to hospital despite there being no need, he added. 
   
   Video footage of Omran being carried from a damaged building and being placed on a seat in the back of an ambulance by an unarmed man who appeared to be a rescue worker was filmed by the pro-opposition Aleppo Media Centre (AMC), after what it said was a series of overnight Russian air strikes on the Qaterji district. 
   
   A doctor at the hospital where Omran was taken told the BBC at the time that he had a head wound that required stitches and was suffering from shock. 
   
   When troops pushed into eastern Aleppo at the end of last year, Mr Daqneesh and his family reportedly chose to cross into government-controlled territory along with thousands of other civilians, rather than be evacuated to rebel-held Idlib province. ||||| Images and a short video clip show Omran Daqneesh for the first time since he was wounded in a regime airstrike 
   
   New footage emerges of Syrian boy who gave a face to the suffering in Aleppo 
   
   New footage has emerged of Omran Daqneesh, the boy whose bloodied and dusty image gave a face to the suffering of Aleppo’s civilians in last year’s siege. 
   
   'I filmed the Syrian boy pulled from the rubble - his wasn't a rare case' Read more 
   
   The images were posted on the social media account of a pro-Syrian government television presenter and appeared to show the young boy in good health and living in Aleppo, which is now under the control of forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad. 
   
   
   
   As the rebels retreated from Aleppo, reports had emerged that the Daqneesh family had crossed over into government territory, but they had not been heard from until now. 
   
   
   
   
   
   The images and a short video clip posted by Kinana Alloush – a reporter who once posted a selfie with the corpses of rebel fighters – marked the first time Omran had appeared publicly since he was wounded in a regime airstrike. 
   
   An image of Omran, stunned and sitting alone in the back of an ambulance after a regime airstrike, quickly went viral when it emerged last August and highlighted the suffering of east Aleppo’s besieged civilians. His brother later died of his wounds from the same airstrike. 
   
   In a short interview clip posted by Alloush, Omran’s father tells the TV presenter that he did not hear a plane above his house before the strike and said he rejected offers to leave Syria by parties wishing to damage the reputation of the country’s armed forces. He said that he changed his son’s name and his hairstyle to evade individuals who threatened to kidnap him and accused rebels of intimidating him. 
   
   It was unclear if the family had been coerced into conducting the interview. The Syrian government has carried out similar disinformation efforts in the past, promising benefits to defectors or displaced civilians if they speak out against alleged rebel crimes. ||||| Rating is available when the video has been rented. 
   
   This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. ||||| Omran Daqneesh became a symbol of the suffering in Aleppo after a heartbreaking photo showing him sitting in the back of an ambulance — bloodied, dazed, dusty and confused — went viral on social media. 
   
   Doctor in #Aleppo just sent this photo of a dazed child who survived an airstrike pic.twitter.com/IHLDc6KPh8 — Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) August 17, 2016 
   
   Now, photos and video of Omran show a young boy in good health and living in Aleppo, which is now under firm control of the Syrian regime. 
   
   A pro-Assad reporter, Kinana Alloush, who once posted a selfie with the dead bodies of rebel fighters, published the first pictures of Omran and his family since they were struck by bombardments conducted by the regime of Bashar al-Assad. 
   
   "The child Omran, those who tried to shed Syrian blood mislead the news that he was hit by the Syrian Arab Army," she wrote. "Here he now lives in the Syrian state with its army, its leader and its people." 
   
   Other pro-regime outlets and the Kremlin-funded video news agency Ruptly also conducted interviews with the boy (Russia is a major ally of the Syrian regime). 
   
   That raises questions over whether the boy is being exploited for a pro-Assad agenda or the family had been forced to conduct the interview. 
   
   Last year, images of Omran being loaded into the emergency vehicle were posted on social media — where it quickly went viral — by rebel groups, including the The Syrian Civil Defense and Aleppo Media Center (AMC). 
   
   It highlighted the suffering of besieged civilians in east Aleppo, drawing the world's attention to the crisis. His brother later died of his wounds. 
   
   But now media loyal to the Assad government appears to be spinning the story for their own agenda. 
   
   In the interview posted by Alloush, Omran's father said he changed his son's name and shaved him to protect him from media attention. "They wanted to trade in his blood and published his photos," he said. 
   
   He added that he refused offers by rebel groups to leave Syria because they want to damage the reputation of the country's army. The family reportedly fled to regime-held west Aleppo as soon as they had a chance. 
   
   It's not the first time that children who went viral on social media during the Syrian civil war are being exploited from one side or another for propaganda purposes. 
   
   Bana Alabed, the 7-year-old girl who tweeted her experience of living in besieged Aleppo, was depicted with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan after her family was evacuated from the devastated Syrian city and allowed into Turkey, with permission to remain. 
   
   I was pleased to host @AlabedBana and her family at the Presidential Complex today. Turkey will always stand with the people of Syria. pic.twitter.com/VuPtmFl7Lr — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RT_Erdogan) December 21, 2016 
   
   In a video, Bana can be heard telling Erdoğan: “Thank you for supporting the children of Aleppo and help us to get out from war. I love you.” ||||| Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email 
   
   Usually you snap a selfie on holiday, with your mates or just having a bit of fun. 
   
   But this selfie with corpses from Syrian journalist Kinana Allouch has left many shocked and horrified. 
   
   The veteran journalist works for Addounia TV, seen by many as a mouthpiece for the Assad regime. 
   
   Her Facebook profile includes a picture of her posing with the brutal dictator, Bashar al-Assad. 
   
   Her selfie appears to be a triumphant message of victory against terrorists during the battle now raging in Aleppo. 
   
   But angry Facebook commentators said the bodies belonged to rebel fighters. 
   
   One, Ashraf Abdullah, called her a "war criminal" and warned her "everything is being recorded". 
   
   As well as her notorious selfie, Allouche posted pictures of herself with Syrian army soldiers . 
   
   She reports on Aleppo, Syria's second city, which was once known for its ancient markets and hilltop fort. 
   
   But since 2012, a bloody battle has raged between the regime and rebels. At least 50,000 Syrians are believed to have fled the city. 
   
   In March, both sides agreed to a ceasefire, but Russian-backed regime forces are said to be attacking the rebel-held neighbourhoods 
   
   (Image: Getty) 
   
   Kyle Orton, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society who studies Syrian propaganda, said "gloating" photos like this one are quite rare, but "triumphalist reporting" is very common. 
   
   He told The Mirror : "The intention of pictures like this from the Assad regime and its surrogates is to say: 'We're tough enough to protect you - or to hurt you if you abandon us - so stay with us.' It's both a threat and an inducement. 
   
   "The dead in the picture will be presented by the regime as from the Islamic State, al-Qaeda, or some other extremist force - who are, in the regime's telling, its only opponents. Who they actually are is not clear at this time. 
   
   "The regime and its sympathizers regularly use the term 'rats' to describe the armed opposition, though Assad has - perhaps drawing on his medical background - called them 'germs'. 
   
   "In either event the dehumanization of the opposition and the need to exterminate it is a well-worn trope in regime circles." 
   
   The regime is not the only side in the Syrian civil war to use propaganda. A crack rebel Syrian sniper recently filmed himself killing victims and posted it online . 
   
   And ISIS regularly uses hi-tech cameras to make gruesome videos of executions of its enemies and hostages.
target: – The Syrian boy who drew worldwide attention last August after he was bloodied by an airstrike in Aleppo has resurfaced looking like any other healthy 5-year-old. But some are cautioning that looks can be deceiving. In interviews with pro-government outlets—including reporter Kinana Allouche, who once shared a selfie with the bodies of rebel fighters—Omran Daqneesh is seen next to his father as the older man accuses rebels of using Omran as a propaganda tool. "They wanted to trade in his blood and published his photos," he says, per the BBC. Mohamad Daqneesh, who lost an older son in the airstrike, adds he refused rebel offers to leave Aleppo because the rebels only seek to hurt the reputation of the Syrian Army, per Mashable. Allouche notes "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." The interview marks a decided turn for the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who last year said the photo of Omran in an ambulance was "forged." But a rep for the Syria Institute suspects a propaganda campaign has only just begun and says the family was "probably" coerced. Since rebels withdrew from Aleppo in December, "they are under government control now and this is a government that we know arrests and tortures anyone that speaks out against it," the rep tells Reuters. The Assad regime is known to offer incentives to those who speak out against rebels, reports the Guardian.