The Sunday Times of London said one of the journalists reportedly killed was reporter Marie Colvin -- the only British newspaper journalist inside the embattled Homs neighborhood of Baba Amr. (CNN) |
HOMS, Syria -- Two Western journalists were killed Wednesday in the Syrian city of Homs amid heavy shelling from government forces, opposition activists said.
The Sunday Times of London said one of the journalists reportedly killed was reporter Marie Colvin -- the only British newspaper journalist inside the embattled Homs neighborhood of Baba Amr.
And French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe confirmed journalist Remi Ochlik was killed in a bombing. He was 28.
The night before, Colvin was on air with CNN describing the horrific onslaught in Homs.
"The Syrian army is shelling the city of cold, starving civilians," she told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
Colvin, a veteran correspondent who also covered last year's Libyan civil war, said the Syrian crisis was the worst conflict she had covered, partly because of the volume of ammunition and shelling falling on Homs.
"There's a lot of snipers on the high buildings surrounding the Baba Amr neighborhood. You can sort of figure out where a sniper is, but you can't figure out where a shell is going to land," she said.
The deaths Wednesday followed that of New York Times reporter Anthony Shadid, who was reporting in eastern Syria when he died last week, apparently from an asthma attack, the newspaper said.
Twenty-seven people were killed Wednesday in Syria including the two journalists, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria (LCC).
The deaths included 20 in the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs, three in Hama, two in Idlib, one in Daraa and one in Aleppo.
Syria routinely blames the violence on "armed terrorist groups." The state-run news agency SANA said Wednesday that "competent authorities" had killed three members of such a group Monday and arrested five in Idlib.
Also, a group assassinated an engineer and wounded his 16-year-old son in Hama, the SANA report said.
Five members of the army and law enforcement were buried Wednesday, SANA said.
Syrians pleading for help in stopping a government-led slaughter might have fresh hope, as the United States called for more international action and hinted that arming the opposition isn't out of the question.
In Washington, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the conflict under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime demands reaction.
"We believe that we are in a situation where we -- the international community -- need to act in order to allow for the transition from Assad to a more democratic future for Syria to take place before the situation becomes too chaotic," Carney told reporters Tuesday.
Asked about calls in recent days by Sens. John McCain, R-Arizona, and Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, for the United States to consider arming the opposition, Carney said, "We don't want to take actions that would contribute to the further militarization of Syria, because that could take the country down a dangerous path.
"But we don't rule out additional measures that, working with our international partners, that the international community might take," he added.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland held out hope for a political solution, but she too cited the possibility of seeking "additional measures" in the absence of change.
"From our perspective, we don't believe that it makes sense to contribute now to the further militarization of Syria. What we don't want to see is the spiral of violence increase. That said, if we can't get Assad to yield to the pressure that we are all bringing to bear, we may have to consider additional measures," Nuland said.
About 9,000 people have been killed -- including 106 Tuesday -- since the government crackdown began almost one year ago, according to the LCC.
The Revolutionary Council of Homs said shelling blasted through homes in Baba Amr, but "the number of those injured could not be estimated because of the nonstop bombing," it said.
"This attack carried out by the Assad forces can be considered a real genocide, and all this is happening amid an electricity, water, and communication services outage, accompanied by the unavailability of food, baby formula and medicine. In this manner, even those who may survive the bombing, end up dying due to hunger or lack of medical care," the group said.
But the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported Tuesday that "food and services are available in Homs," and said "provocative channels are fabricating lies" to the contrary.
CNN cannot independently verify opposition or government reports of casualties because the government has severely limited access to the country by foreign journalists.
But the vast majority of accounts from inside Syria indicate al-Assad's forces are slaughtering civilians in an attempt to wipe out opposition members, who are demanding his ouster and democratic reforms.
Colvin, in her interview the night before her death, described the heartbreak of watching a young boy die after being struck in the chest by shrapnel -- one of the many children killed in the conflict.
She said it was important to share his story and images.
"That little baby is one of two children who died today," Colvin said. "That baby probably will move more people to think, what is going on, and why is no one stopping this murder in Homs that is happening everyday?"
The Sunday Times of London said one of the journalists reportedly killed was reporter Marie Colvin -- the only British newspaper journalist inside the embattled Homs neighborhood of Baba Amr.
And French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe confirmed journalist Remi Ochlik was killed in a bombing. He was 28.
The night before, Colvin was on air with CNN describing the horrific onslaught in Homs.
"The Syrian army is shelling the city of cold, starving civilians," she told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
Colvin, a veteran correspondent who also covered last year's Libyan civil war, said the Syrian crisis was the worst conflict she had covered, partly because of the volume of ammunition and shelling falling on Homs.
"There's a lot of snipers on the high buildings surrounding the Baba Amr neighborhood. You can sort of figure out where a sniper is, but you can't figure out where a shell is going to land," she said.
The deaths Wednesday followed that of New York Times reporter Anthony Shadid, who was reporting in eastern Syria when he died last week, apparently from an asthma attack, the newspaper said.
Twenty-seven people were killed Wednesday in Syria including the two journalists, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria (LCC).
The deaths included 20 in the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs, three in Hama, two in Idlib, one in Daraa and one in Aleppo.
Syria routinely blames the violence on "armed terrorist groups." The state-run news agency SANA said Wednesday that "competent authorities" had killed three members of such a group Monday and arrested five in Idlib.
Also, a group assassinated an engineer and wounded his 16-year-old son in Hama, the SANA report said.
Five members of the army and law enforcement were buried Wednesday, SANA said.
Syrians pleading for help in stopping a government-led slaughter might have fresh hope, as the United States called for more international action and hinted that arming the opposition isn't out of the question.
In Washington, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the conflict under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime demands reaction.
"We believe that we are in a situation where we -- the international community -- need to act in order to allow for the transition from Assad to a more democratic future for Syria to take place before the situation becomes too chaotic," Carney told reporters Tuesday.
Asked about calls in recent days by Sens. John McCain, R-Arizona, and Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, for the United States to consider arming the opposition, Carney said, "We don't want to take actions that would contribute to the further militarization of Syria, because that could take the country down a dangerous path.
"But we don't rule out additional measures that, working with our international partners, that the international community might take," he added.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland held out hope for a political solution, but she too cited the possibility of seeking "additional measures" in the absence of change.
"From our perspective, we don't believe that it makes sense to contribute now to the further militarization of Syria. What we don't want to see is the spiral of violence increase. That said, if we can't get Assad to yield to the pressure that we are all bringing to bear, we may have to consider additional measures," Nuland said.
About 9,000 people have been killed -- including 106 Tuesday -- since the government crackdown began almost one year ago, according to the LCC.
The Revolutionary Council of Homs said shelling blasted through homes in Baba Amr, but "the number of those injured could not be estimated because of the nonstop bombing," it said.
"This attack carried out by the Assad forces can be considered a real genocide, and all this is happening amid an electricity, water, and communication services outage, accompanied by the unavailability of food, baby formula and medicine. In this manner, even those who may survive the bombing, end up dying due to hunger or lack of medical care," the group said.
But the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported Tuesday that "food and services are available in Homs," and said "provocative channels are fabricating lies" to the contrary.
CNN cannot independently verify opposition or government reports of casualties because the government has severely limited access to the country by foreign journalists.
But the vast majority of accounts from inside Syria indicate al-Assad's forces are slaughtering civilians in an attempt to wipe out opposition members, who are demanding his ouster and democratic reforms.
Colvin, in her interview the night before her death, described the heartbreak of watching a young boy die after being struck in the chest by shrapnel -- one of the many children killed in the conflict.
She said it was important to share his story and images.
"That little baby is one of two children who died today," Colvin said. "That baby probably will move more people to think, what is going on, and why is no one stopping this murder in Homs that is happening everyday?"
