2 journalists killed in Syria
DAMASCUS — Two western journalists were among dozens killed Wednesday as Syrian forces pounded the rebel city of Homs, activists said, amid mounting calls for a truce to allow in humanitarian aid.
At least 24 civilians were killed in shelling of the Homs neighbourhood of Baba Amr in the 19th straight day of a government forces assault on the central city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
American journalist Marie Colvin, who reported for London’s Sunday Times, and French freelance photojournalist Remi Ochlik were killed in the latest onslaught of the district, French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said.
France’s President, Nicolas Sarkozy, said the killing of the journalists showed that “this regime must go,” while Britain’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Syrian ambassador to lodge a protest.
From inside the quarter, activist Omar Shaker said the journalists were killed and three others wounded as a shell crashed into a makeshift media centre set up by anti-regime militants.
French newspaper Le Figaro said one of its reporters, Edith Bouvier, was wounded in the legs, and Rupert Murdoch, who owns the Sunday Times, said the paper’s photojournalist, Paul Conroy, was injured.
French TV reporter Gilles Jacquier was killed in Homs last month.
The latest attacks in Homs added to an overall death toll of 7,636 since anti-regime protests erupted last March.