Sonny Bill Williams, the New Zealand rugby player and UN Children's Fund (Unicef) ambassador has provoked a storm of controversy after posting photos of dead children following a visit to a Syrian refugee camp.
A World Cup winning All Black, Williams travelled to the camp in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley earlier this month with Unicef to highlight the plight of the 1.2 million refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria.
"What did these children do to deserve this?," Williams tweeted late on Tuesday with pictures showing the bodies of two young children with horrific injuries. "This summer share a thought for the innocent lives lost everyday in war."The publication of the images drew a critical reaction from several followers and local media.
"Sorry you (feel) the need to post pictures of dead bodies to highlight your cause. Where's your respect?" one person responded.
@SonnyBWilliams wow that's heavy, but do spare a thought for your young followers who will not understand this x
— Caz (@carrie_stuart) December 29, 2015
Many comments, however, were supportive of Williams' decision to post the images.
@SonnyBWilliams I'm glad you posted this, you created discussion and I applaud you for your humanity in visiting these victims x
— Marici (@maricisun) December 29, 2015
A spokeswoman for Unicef Australia said while she understood the motivation of Williams to share the pictures, the organisation did not support the publication of such images.
He won wide praise during the Rugby World Cup in England this year after first offering tickets to the semi final to Syrian refugees and then giving hiswinner's medal away to a young fan who was tackled by a security guard after the match.
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