Brother of Little Boy From Aleppo Dies From Injuries
SAVIDGE: You know if you've never been in a war, it is very difficult to explain or in any way communicate what it is like. But every now and then there are images that can go a long way to doing that. And what we have for you right now is one of those, and you've probably already seen it. It's become a symbol for the war in Syria. A young boy in this video, his name Omran, had survived an airstrike in the city of Aleppo, which had been devastated by the conflict that's ongoing. Well, we've now received word that his 10-year-old brother has died from injuries sustained in that same airstrike. Joining us now on the phone with more is CNN international correspondent Jomana Karadsheh. Jomana, what more do we know?</s>JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, Martin, according to an official from the Aleppo Media Center, this is an opposition body that was set up in Aleppo. He informed us that Ali Daqneesh, the 10-year-old brother of Omran, died at 9:00 a.m. local time in Aleppo as a result of injuries sustained in that airstrikes. For the past three days the official said that 10-year-old Ali was in critical condition and he was receiving medical care but he did succumb to his wounds earlier today. The mother of the boys is still in critical condition, she is still receiving medical care, and the family remains in Aleppo. But they are refusing to speak to the media as one would expect at a time like this. The family is extremely impacted by what they have been through. And, Martin, if you talk to the activists and aid workers, they tell you that this family's pain and suffering is really a reflection of the situation on the ground. This is the suffering, the pain of so many families who have gone through this in Syria and in Aleppo specifically where we have seen this rise in violence over recent weeks. And if you look at the figure, really staggering figure, 4500 children have been killed in Aleppo province alone since the start of that uprising in 2011 and the civil war that followed that. And today we're hearing more reports, Martin, not just Ali Daqneesh, the 10-year-old brother of Omran, who has passed away, but also reports from activists that a number of other children have also been killed in further airstrikes today in what is being described now, this fight for Aleppo, described by aid officials as the most devastating -- one of the most devastating conflicts in modern times -- Martin.</s>SAVIDGE: Jomana Karadsheh, thank you very much for that, although the news is horrific. I want to bring in Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, CNN military analyst and a former U.S. military attache to Syria. And, Colonel, sort of getting back to what I was talking about, those who are in the military tragically are exposed to these kind of images and often we don't talk about them afterwards. I'm wondering, the impact now, this has been seen around the world. You can't help but be moved. From a military perspective and what you know of history, could this actually change us and bring about a way to end this war or is it just going to be another painful reminder that war is bad?</s>LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Martin, I have to tell you, I hope for the former, but I believe the latter is probably going to be what happens. Remember the horrific image that we saw of the young child that was drowned on the beach trying to escape Europe? What we have is a similar situation and this will be in the press and it will touch our hearts for week to come but it will not change the situation. As devastating as that image is, we still see continued air strikes every day. The battle on the ground in Aleppo is ongoing as we speak. The situation is not getting better, it is getting worse. We see the conflicts spreading out into areas that were not involved in actual combat. We see fighting in the north eastern part of Syria now. We see the Syrian air force starting to bomb over there. The Russians continue a massive air campaign. Yesterday they added cruise missile to the mix all going into Aleppo, all into the same area. So unfortunately this image, although it tugs at our heart, has had no real impact on the fighting on the ground.</s>SAVIDGE: And we know that, you know, we have focused on the fighting but really this is something that has to be settled through negotiation. It is something that's settled through artillery and gunfire.</s>FRANCONA: What's happening is -- all of the players are involved are angling for a seat at the table or a more important seat at the table, more influence. And we see this power play between the Iranians, the Turks, the Russians, the Americans, everybody wants to have a say in what happens in the future of Syria. Everybody knows that there's going to have to be some sort of diplomatic solution, some sort of state craft that fixes all of this. But to get there everybody has to feel comfortable that they're going to be represented and everybody is fighting for that so that they make sure their position is protected. Everybody has a stake in this and they want to make sure that their side prevails in the end.</s>SAVIDGE: There is a -- perhaps a short-term benefit, I suppose. The Russians are now saying that they might go along with a kind of weekly 48 hours cessation of bombing to allow either evacuation or medical aid to get in. Do you think that's likely?</s>FRANCONA: Well, we've seen the Russians make these kind of offers before. They started off with three hours a day. And that didn't work. It's just not long enough. 48 hours would be beneficial if it's in fact true. But we see these offers all the time and nothing happens because neither side trusts the other enough to take real advantage of these truces. They take -- they just move military things, they resupply their forces. So it sounds good. I don't put much hope in it. I think what we're going to see is the continuation of the devastation that we've seen over the past several weeks.</s>SAVIDGE: And quickly, the Russians have started using Iran as a launching pad for some of their aircraft. And I'm wondering, what do you make of that and why would Iran go along?</s>FRANCONA: Well, Iran would go along because they think that the situation in Aleppo is not going their way and they want the Russian to increase the air power that they're using. And using that base in Iran really does that because it shortens the flight time and allows you increased bomb loads. So the Iranians are doing this for Iran's benefit. Not for Russians. The Russians are taking advantage of that because, you know, just for air operations, it makes more sense. It's very similar to our using Incirlik in Turkey. It allows us to get to the target quicker and carrying more bomb loads. Militarily makes sense for the Iranians, a political decision that works for them.</s>SAVIDGE: And, you know, this is likely to put pressure on the Obama administration to accept far more refugees not just from Syria but from around the world. Do you agree with that?</s>FRANCONA: Probably. And I don't know what the answer will be there. But we are being marginalized in what's going on in Syria. The Russians, Iranians and the Turks have really made plays to be the key power broker there and we see -- at our expense. So I think as they increase their operations there, we're becoming more and more marginalized. And as we talked about, that future diplomatic solution, we have got to have input into what's going on so we have to be involved.</s>SAVIDGE: Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, thank you very much for joining us.</s>FRANCONA: Good to be with you, Martin.</s>SAVIDGE: Coming up, Trump and the fate of the GOP. Why some Republicans are calling on the RNC to rip its funding from the campaign to protect the party's future of the House and Senate. We'll go into that next.