Syria: Father reunited with young son he thought had died in last week’s chemical weapons attack

The man is overcome with emotion after being reunited with his son (Picture: YouTube)

Hope is hard to come by in Syria, even more so since last week’s suspected chemical weapons attack that has seen western nations gear up for war in response.

But in a civil war marked by atrocities captured on video and uploaded online week upon week, a rare glimmer of good news has been captured on film.

A seven-minute clip posted on YouTube this week shows a father being reunited with his infant son whom he believed had died in the alleged nerve gas attack in Zamalka, in the south of the country, last Wednesday

The unidentified man, wearing a white T-shirt, appears around a minute into the video, barely able to walk upright with emotion as people around him recite the Takbir; ‘Allahu akbar’ (God is great) .

The joy is plain to see on his face as he embraces his young son, but he soon collapses again, overwhelmed by the reunion.

The man is later seen sitting indoors seemingly in a state of shock as well-wishers congratulate him, and he cries tears of happiness and smiles as the boy is placed into his arms.

The man is congratulated by well-wishers (Picture: Syria)

Reddit user Shrooki shared the clip this week, writing: ‘I don’t understand most of it, but you don’t need to know any language to see the power in this video. If you have a child, I promise you’ll hold them closer tonight after watching this clip.’

Hundreds died in last week’s suspected chemical attack in and around the suburbs of Damascus. United Nations investigators have been unable to confirm the use of nerve gas but western governments have said the Bashar al-Assad regime was undeniably to blame.

 

Prime minister David Cameron, who has held talks with Barack Obama on the next step, is chairing the National Security Council today, ahead of a debate and vote by MPs in a recalled Parliament tomorrow