Western Journalists Killed in Syria Attacks

An American journalist, French photographer, and popular Syrian blogger were among at least 45 civilians killed in recent attacks of the Syrian city Homs. The BBC reports that their makeshift media center in the Baba Amr district was shelled as President Bashar Assad’s forces continued their efforts to stop the rising opposition.

Marie Colvin, a longtime war correspondent at the British newspaper the Sunday Times, specialized in the Middle East. Newsday reports that Colvin, originally from East Norwich, N.Y., was the recipient of the Woman Media Foundation’s Courage in Journalism award and two British Press Awards for Foreign Reporter of the Year.

The Associated Press reports that Remi Ochlik, a 28-year-old photojournalist who founded IP3 Press, had just won the 2012 World Press Photo Contest for general news stories with "Battle of Libya." The eastern France native was regarded as a rising star in photojournalism and had covered conflicts in Haiti, Tunisia, Egypt, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Video blogger and activist Rami al-Said had been providing a live stream of the Homs attacks, some of the only live footage available of the violence, according to CBS News. In his last Facebook post he urged Syrian people’s supporters to rally around embassies and decry the shelling:

Baba Amro is being wiped out now, complete genocide, I don't want you to tell us our hearts are with you because I know that, I want projects everywhere inside and outside I want everyone to go out in front of the embassies in al ... l countries everywhere because we are soon to be nothing, there will be no more Baba Amr - I expect this is a final letter to you and we will not forgive you.