US News

Banksy video hits Times Square on Syria anniversary

Street artist Banksy was joined by “Mandela” actor Idris Elba in a campaign to end the ongoing bloodshed in Syria on the third anniversary of the brutal civil war in the country.

A video inspired by Banksy’s iconic art piece “Girl with the Red Balloon” is entitled #WithSyria and was displayed on the Fox jumbo screen at the south end of Times Square and other locations around the world starting Thursday morning at 8 a.m.

The clip is narrated by Elba and sound tracked by UK-based rock group Elbow.

In addition, thousands of people are set to attend vigils in more than 40 countries and human rights groups will join Syrian voices in demanding an end to the war which has killed more than 100,000 people, including children.

“It was important for me to support and lend my voice to this stunning animation,” Elba said.

“Ordinary Syrian civilians continue to pay the heaviest price in a conflict that has already wrecked millions of lives.”

The third anniversary of the Syrian conflict is on March 15.