Two journalists killed in Syria

Herald Globe (IANS) Wednesday 22nd February, 2012

Marie Colvin, a reporter with the British daily Sunday Times, and a French photographer Remi Ochlik have been killed in Syria's besieged city of Homs, the Sun reported Wednesday.

The two western journalists were killed after shells hit the house they were staying in, the daily quoted the French government as confirming in a report.

They were killed in the city's Baba Amr district while three other foreign journalists reportedly suffered injuries.

Colvin and Ochlik were reportedly hit by a rocket while fleeing.

Colvin was renowned for wearing a black eye patch after losing an eye in Sri Lanka in 2001 from a shrapnel wound.

In 2010, Colvin had mentioned about the dangers of reporting from conflict zones during a career spanning three decades.

She said: "Craters. Burned houses. Mutilated bodies. Women weeping for children and husbands. Men for their wives, mothers, children ... Our mission is to report these horrors of war with accuracy and without prejudice.

"We always have to ask ourselves whether the level of risk is worth the story. What is bravery, and what is bravado?

"Journalists covering combat shoulder great responsibilities and face difficult choices. Sometimes they pay the ultimate price."

The Syrian city of Homs has witnessed the fiercest fighting of the popular uprising and hundreds have died at the hands of forces loyal to the regime.