NAYRAB, Syria(National times)- As Australia’s worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years unfolded, a Sydney shopowner was captured on camera charging at one of the gunmen and disarming him. Halfway around the world in Syria, a group of men watching the footage recognised a familiar face. Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, left his hometown in Syria’s northwest province of Idlib nearly 20 years ago to seek work in Australia. On Sunday, he was wounded after wrestling a rifle away from a man attacking a Jewish holiday event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, in which 15 people were killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SYRIA IS ‘PROUD OF HIM’<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His uncle, Mohammed al-Ahmed, recognised him from footage circulating online. “We learned through social media. I called his father and he told me that it was Ahmed. Ahmed is a hero, we’re proud of him. Syria in general is proud of him,” the uncle told Reuters. The family hails from the town of Nayrab, which was bombed heavily during Syria’s nearly 14-year war, which ended when longtime leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted in a rebel offensive launched from Idlib last year. Ahmed said his nephew left Syria in 2006 after completing a degree at Aleppo University. He hasn’t been back since. “Since he was young, he was gallant and a hero,” his uncle said, describing him as a happy and passionate person. “He acted impulsively without thinking who the people were that were being killed – without knowing their religion, if they were Muslim or Christian or Jewish. That’s what made him jump up and carry out this heroic act.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
‘PEACEMAKERS, NOT WARMONGERERS’<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ahmed, who now holds Australian citizenship and has two daughters, remains in a Sydney hospital with gunshot wounds. He has been hailed as a hero around the world, including by US President Donald Trump. A GoFundMe campaign set up for him has raised more than A$2.2 million ($1.5 million). Back at home, the Ahmed family home remains in ruins. Piles of smashed cinderblocks ring the concrete carcass of the two-storey house, whose walls are punctured by shelling. “This is Ahmed’s father’s home. It got destroyed during the war. Bombing, bombing from planes, missiles – every type of weapon,” Ahmed’s cousin, who is also named Mohammad al-Ahmed, told Reuters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAYRAB, Syria(National times)- As Australia’s worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years unfolded, a Sydney shopowner was captured on camera charging at one of the gunmen and disarming him. Halfway around the world in Syria, a group of men watching the footage recognised a familiar face. Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, left his hometown in Syria’s northwest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n