Grandmother mourns son’s death in Aleppo clashes

As the Syrian conflict claims the lives of over 60,000 people, the family of Umm Omar shares their story of loss.

Dressed in black and surrounded by her grandchildren she tells of the passing of her eldest son.

Omar was the oldest of 11 children raised in Aleppo’s surrounding countryside.

His death has left three orphaned children with no breadwinner apart from his mother, a few philanthropists and some relatives.

Omar died while standing in the face of the Syrian army which entered his village. The confrontation also led to the death of five fellow residents.

Umm Omar continues to mourn the loss of her son.

“My son was enrolled in the Free Syrian Army, I did not want him to, but he used to tell me: would it be better if the regime’s army storms into women’s houses?”

She worries about the children he left behind.

“May he cry for the loss of his children like I cry for the loss of my son.”

Syria’s 22-month-old revolt which started off as a peaceful protest movement against more than four decades of rule by President Bashar al-Assad and his family, shows no sign of abating.