'Homs Is a Death Trap': Foreign Journalists, Syrian Activist Killed in Shelling

February 22, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

Two foreign journalists and a leading Syrian activist have been killed in Homs, as shelling continued amid warnings of an escalating humanitarian crisis in the city. Omar Shakir, an activist in the city, told Al Jazeera that the deaths of Marie Colvin, a US reporter working for the UK's Sunday Times newspaper, and French photographer Remi Ochlik occurred when a building used by activists as a media center was shelled on Wednesday. Another Syrian activist, Rami Ahmad Alsayeed, thought to be a leading figure in a group of Syrian video journalists known as SyriaPioneer, was also killed, leading to a surge of fury and grief across the country. Al Jazeera's Laurence Lee reports.

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Siege of Homs

The Siege of Homs is a series of military operations being conducted by the Syrian military in the city of Homs as a part of the Syrian civil war. Homs is the third most populated city of Syria, located 100 km north of Damascus and sometimes called the "Capital of the Revoluti... Explore this topic

Homs

Homs, previously known as Emesa, is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is 501 metres above sea level and is located 162 kilometres north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is also the central link between the interior cities and th... Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

Marie Colvin

Marie Catherine Colvin (1957 – February 22, 2012) was an American journalist who worked for the British newspaper The Sunday Times over two decades. Explore this topic

Civilian casualties

Civilian casualties is a military term describing civilian persons killed, injured, or imprisoned by military action. Civilian casualties can be associated with the outcome of any form of military action regardless of whether civilians were targeted directly or not. This diffe... Explore this topic

Rémi Ochlik

Rémi Ochlik (1983 – 22 February 2012) was a French photojournalist and photographer. Best known for his pictures of war scenes and violent conflict, he was killed in the February 2012 bombardment of Homs during the 2011–2012 Syrian uprising. Explore this topic

Idlib

Idlib is a city in northwestern Syria, capital of the Idlib Governorate, and 59 kilometers west of Aleppo. It has an elevation of nearly 500 meters above sea level. In the 2004 census by the Central Bureau of Statistics, Idlib had a population of 98,791. The inhabitants are ov... Explore this topic

Residential area

A residential area is a land use in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residential, or mobile homes. Zoning for res... Explore this topic

Artillery

Artillery is a weapon of war that operates by projection of munitions far beyond the effective range of personal weapons. Artillery comprise specialised devices which use some form of stored energy to operate, whether mechanical, chemical, or electromagnetic. Originally design... Explore this topic

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Siege of Homs

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