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Sonny Bill Williams causes uproar, posts photos of dead Syrian children

All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams has sent the Twittersphere into a frenzy this morning after posting images of two dead Syrian children following his recent visit to refugee camps in Lebanon.

Sonny Bill refugees

Williams was visiting the Syrian refugee camp at Faida in the Bekaa Valley as an ambassador for UNICEF, his time spent trying to help bring awareness to the living conditions of children and families living there. The graphic images, which you can find on Williams’ Twitter feed, was posted with the caption “What did these children do to deserve this? This summer share a thought for the innocent lives lost everyday in war.

The reaction to Williams’ tweet has been mixed, with some criticising him for posting graphic images of children while others have praised his actions at starting a dialogue.

Williams spent 12 days at the camp, spending the majority of his time with 12 year old Fatima and her family. He has since said of the experience “I came here and what I’ve heard, what I’ve seen, I’ve just been shocked and it’s just made me realise how ignorant I was.”

“The thing that really touched me was, coming here, I didn’t really know what a refugee was. I mean, I knew what a refugee was but did I really know? No, not until I came here.”

This story was first seen on the Sydney Morning Herald.