Tortured child becomes Syria's latest icon

In the 11th week of their uprising against the regime, Syrians finally found their revolutionary icon, but at horrific cost. The death of 13-year-old Hamza Ali Al Khateeb, from the village of Jeeza, near the southern revolt city of Daraa, became a propelling force in the uprising against the rule of President Bashar Al Assad, who just a few weeks prior accepted to introduce reforms. The boy went missing on April 29 and his body was handed over on May 25. Hamza was arrested on April 29 near the Palestinian camp of Sida on his way to Daraa, carrying food and bread to the besieged city. He was arrested for "chanting ‘down with the regime'" along with a group of young protesters. The rest of the story remains a mystery. On May 25, Hamza's family was told to pick up his body from the hospital. "The body was in a very bad shape. It had three big holes of [a] special kind of large-size bullets that exploded inside the body after penetration. The boy was shot at from three directions. One of the bullets [hit him] a little above the heart," according to Hamza's cousin, who saw his body at the family's home in Jeeza Village. Hamza was covered with dark blue marks all over his body. Marks on his neck suggested he was strangled or that someone stepped on his neck while he was in custody. "Other bruises, most probably from being subjected to beating, covered the body, and most importantly, his genitals were mutilated for unknown reasons," the cousin, who preferred not to be identified, told Gulf News. Despite the tragedy the nation found its "icon" of the revolution much likeTunisians had Mohammad Bu Azizi and Egyptians had Khalid Saeed.