Syria surrender photographer tracked down

After much speculation over the authenticity of a photo of a Syrian girl mistaking a camera for a gun and surrendering, media have tracked down the photographer.

Osman Sagirli told the BBC he had taken the photo of the four-year-old girl at the Atmeh refugee camp in Syria.

The little girl, who’s name is Hudea, came with her mother and two siblings to the refugee camp near the Turkey border from their home in Hama.

"I was using a telephoto lens, and she thought it was a weapon.

"I realised she was terrified after I took it, and looked at the picture, because she bit her lips and raised her hands. Normally kids run away, hide their faces or smile when they see a camera,” he said.

The image first made headlines when it was tweeted by Gaza-based photojournalist Nadia AbuShaban five days ago and it has since been shared to all corners of the globe.

"Photojournalist took this photo 4 Syrian child, thought he has a weapon not a camera so she Gave up ! #Surrended (sic)" she tweeted.

The photograph has net yet been verified, however, its impact has been clear.

As of March 30, AbuShaban’s message had been retweeted almost 9000 times and favourited another 4000 times. Her Twitter profile has also been flooded with messages.

It has since been shared to other social media platforms, attracting millions of views and thousands of comments on Tumblr, Reddit and other popular sites.

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According to the United Nations, the on-going civil war in Syria has worsened as it enters its fifth year.

About 220,000 people have been killed, according to estimates, while millions more have been displaced and are in need of life-saving assistance.

Children, like the girl in the photograph, have been particularly badly affected with the UN estimating as many as 5.6 million now need assistance from the international community.